Venice has often been described as a beautiful oddity and rightfully so. The Italian city built on over 100 islands and crisscrossed by 177 canals and which was once at risk of drowning is now running dry. This has been attributed to weeks of dry winter weather while scientists and environmental groups have raised concerns that this could signal another drought in the European country after last summer’s emergency.
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What is happening in Venice?
The Italian city, famous for its gondolas, has also been suffering alongside the country’s rivers and lakes which are also witnessing a severe lack of water. The problems in Venice have been attributed to a combination of factors ranging from a prolonged spell of low tides, lack of rain and a high-pressure system to even a full moon and sea currents.
Consequently, this has led to frustrated boat crews and worried officials as ambulances are unable to navigate through some of its narrower canals. This has become particularly problematic since the famous waterways serve as streets in car-less Venice.
According to a report by the Associated Press, ambulance boats, in certain areas of the city, had to be left tied up farther from their destination. This forced medical personnel to lift stretchers over long distances since their vessels cannot pass through canals reduced to a trickle of water and mud.
Last week, a series of images out of Venice showed pools of water collected in some canals and parked gondolas alongside exposed foundations of several buildings. This also meant that tourists could not navigate some secondary waterways in the Italian city. Notably, boats continued to work in some of the wider waterways across Venice which included the Grand and Giudecca canals.
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A sustainable development analyst with the environmental advocacy group, We Are Here Venice, Jane Da Mosto has attributed this phenomenon in the Italian city to a combination of high atmospheric pressure with the lunar cycle producing an ultra-low water level during ebb tide, during mid-winter, reported AP. She also said how this phenomenon highlights the need for cleaning Venice’s inner canal network which is often overlooked.
“It’s an absolutely normal phenomenon,” said Alvise Papa, the head of Venice’s tide forecasting centre to AFP, on Tuesday. He added, “Low tides are not enough to dry up the canals, but this year they are accompanied by high atmospheric pressure, which prevents bad weather”. Venice was expected to return to normalcy sometime this week.
Experts raise concern over Italy’s rivers and lakes
As Venice continues to grapple with the dire situation of its waterways, the rest of the country is not faring well either. In the past few days, scientists and experts, in the context of the situation of Venice’s canals have indicated that the country may face another drought. In a statement, on Monday, one of the largest environmental NGOs in Italy, the Legambiente said rivers and lakes, particularly in the north of the country are in “distress” due to the severe lack of water.
In this context, scientists have also referred to the Alps which received less than half of their normal snowfall. The aforementioned high-pressure system compounded by scarce Alpine snow melt this year has also contributed to the lack of water in lakes and rivers in northern Italy in the past few weeks.
The lack of snow this year has also been a concern since there was 53 per cent less in the Alps, particularly in the Po basin. Consequently, the Po, Italy’s longest river which runs from the Alps in the northwest to the Adriatic Sea also received 61 per cent less water than it typically does around this time of the year, said the environmental advocacy citing data from CIMA Research Foundation.
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Notably, the aforementioned river accounts for roughly a third of the country’s agricultural production. The statement also warned about the cascading effects of a prolonged drought in Italy which included, the lack of water for civil, agricultural and industrial uses that would, in turn, lead to loss of biodiversity, lower yields of crops, and disturb the balance of natural ecosystems.
This also comes as an anticyclone has been dominating the weather in western Europe for the past 15 days or so, which has led to an increase in the number of mild temperatures typically witnessed in late spring, as per Reuters. Additionally, the record low water levels in Lake Garda, in northern Italy, made it possible to reach the small island of San Biagio. Earlier this month, a small pathway which links the shore to the island re-emerged and visitors were able to walk across the middle of the lake.
“We are in a water deficit situation that has been building up since the winter of 2020-2021,” said climate expert Massimiliano Pasqui, from the National Research Council (CNR), as per Italian newspaper, Corriere della Sera. The country requires 500 millimetres of rain in the north-western regions over 50 days in order to recover, he added, reported Reuters.
Italy’s state of emergency over droughts
Last year, Italy declared a state of emergency in five northern regions which included areas surrounding the river Po which was facing its worst drought in 70 years. The government placed Emilia-Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto under emergency and announced a relief fund of $38 million to help tackle the water shortage.
The phenomenon had been attributed to an unusually early heatwave and a lack of rainfall, particularly in the Po valley. Additionally, Lakes Maggiore and Garda had witnessed lower levels of water than typically expected at that time of the year while the levels of the Tiber River, which runs through Rome had also dropped.
NOTE – This article was originally published in wionews and can be viewed here
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