According to reports on January 7 local time, Europe’s natural gas reserves have now fallen to their lowest level since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Current reserves are well below the five-year average, standing at less than 60%, and the European Union may face the risk of a natural gas shortage. According to data from the Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), as of January 4, the storage level in Europe’s underground gas storage facilities stood at just 59.9%. This level is typically only seen in late January during previous winters and is approximately 13% lower than the average for early January over the past five years. Gazprom has warned that as natural gas reserves in underground storage facilities are declining at an unusually rapid pace this heating season, the EU may face the risk of gas shortages. (CCTV)