Cry for help as French-Swiss lake dries up

The Lac des Brenets, a picturesque lake on the France–Switzerland border, has dried up after a record-breaking hot summer, leaving locals calling for help to save it. In exposed weeds on the dry lake bed, the words “HELP” and “SOS” were scratched out. Residents say tourism has been ruined and worry the lake may not recover to full health; historian David Favre said water has emptied out every couple of years since the last drought in 2018. The Doubs river normally forms the lake near Les Brenets, then ends in a 27-metre waterfall that has stopped flowing. Factors include underground water-draining fissures, below-average rainfall, and repeated heatwaves, with June–August the hottest ever recorded in Switzerland since 1864. A 2022 joint task force has not produced decisive action, and boat operations were halted on July 20.