CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -The Mississippi River at Cairo, Illinois, is nearing its lowest level since 1901. And the Mississippi River at Memphis set a new record of-10.71 feet, on Monday at the meter just southwest of the I-55 “Old Bridge, ” and had gone even lower, down to-10.75 feet, by 2 p.m. The previous record was set in 1988.

Detailed explanation-2: -The record is 1.6 feet below NAVD88, set on Dec. 27, 1872. The National Weather Service has records dating from 1849.

Detailed explanation-3: -How deep is the Mississippi? While mere inches at the headwaters, the river’s depth drops dramatically once you get close to its mouth. The deepest point, near Algiers Point in New Orleans, is about 200 feet.

Detailed explanation-4: -In Memphis, the river dropped to minus-10.75 feet, a the lowest record ever recorded there, according to data from the National Weather Service.

Detailed explanation-5: -In 2022 soil moisture levels were normal in the tributaries, but a flash drought developed in the central U.S. over the Mississippi River itself, increasing evaporation and reducing lower Mississippi River water levels.