Dry soil soaks up rain as Finnish lakes and groundwater hit unusually low levels

Recent rains soaked into parched ground rather than refilling lake basins, leaving many Finnish lakes unusually low and groundwater depleted across much of the country, YLE reports. Early-week showers briefly raised some west-coast rivers, but most of the water went into catchments and vegetation. Exposed shoals and dry river stones remain visible in many natural waterbodies.

Jukka Sainio of the Southwest Finland Centre for Vitality said the large lakes were already so low at the start of summer that even heavy rains have not been enough to return them to normal. He warned groundwater in major aquifers is very low and still falling, and said "we could run into a situation where water sufficiency becomes a problem across Finland." The scene is stark in places.

Low water levels are hitting recreation and raising safety concerns. Saimaa and Päijänne sit about 40 centimetres below average despite regulated flows, leaving many piers high above the water and making swimming and launching boats difficult. In Pirkanmaa, Lake Tarjanne reached 160-year observation lows earlier in the summer and remains tens of centimetres below normal; Mallasvesi and Längelmävesi are also unusually low.

This follows earlier warnings about scarce spring rainfall in Pirkanmaa that predicted unusually low lakes and advice from the transport agency to boaters to prepare for low water levels when inland canals and movable bridges reopened in May due to shallow conditions.