Known as the “City of Canals” Venice is known for its beautiful and scenic waterways. The city is often prone to flooding, but now it's facing a different problem. Recently, many gondoliers are limiting their movement because increasingly low tides have dried out many of the city’s canals. A long stretch of low tides, much longer than is typical for the area, has plagued Venice, leaving many boats and gondolas unable to navigate the waterways.
The stretch of low tides compounds on top of last summer’s worst drought in over 70 years in Europe. Andrea Balbi, a Venetian gondolier for 28 years told NBC News “We have had four exceptional low tides, and each time the water was so low in certain canals that we had to stir away from them.” He goes on to say “I have never seen so many low tides at once.”
The Italian Environmentalist Association, Legambiente, sounded the alarm by coming out with many warnings and startling statistics. Here are some of the figures they provided:
The snow deficit in mid-February raises concern. Snow, specifically Alpine snow, is Italy’s most important water reserve. The meltwater from the Alpine snow travels into the Po river, which runs through many of Italy’s most populous regions. The river also flows through areas of large agricultural production.
An anticyclone has been gripping western Europe for over 15 days. It’s brought warmer temperatures, weather that would be typical around late spring. There is good news however, much-needed rain and snow are in the forecast for Venice and the surrounding areas.
AJ Forrisi
Assistant Editor for America Domani, AJ Forrisi is a Brooklyn-based writer and photographer. His work focuses on food, travel, sports, landscapes, and urban scenes. You can find him on Instagram @aj.photo.works.