The shallowing of the canals in Venice brings unpleasant surprises to tourists again: excursions are canceled, and traffic is stopped because the sea unexpectedly left the city. Extreme low tides, which already paralyzed the city’s life on the water a few years ago, happened again. So the legendary town of Italy is threatened not only by floods.
Note: Also read about a similar problem at the resorts of Turkey, although caused by other reasons, in the article “A 50-meter sea ebb scared tourists in Turkey.”
The canals in Venice have almost dried up recently due to strong tides and an extreme drop in the water level – it is recorded at half a meter below normal. Bloomberg reported that hampers water taxis, gondolas, and city emergency services that use boats.
We will remind you that this phenomenon was already observed in Venice – in the middle of January 2020. After November’s floods, when Venice recorded its highest water level in 50 years, came the strongest tides in years, leaving some of Venice’s canals dry. The city was saved only by the declining number of tourists – then the fear of the pandemic was already spreading. At the beginning of March 2021, the situation repeated itself. And so, in February 2023, in some canals of Venice, the “bottom is visible” again.
Perhaps extreme low tides will soon have to become a more deterrent to tourists than the aqua alta, Venice’s famous floods — when it’s impossible to walk in St. Mark’s Square without wading boots up to your waist. By the way, they are cheerfully offered to tourists by local merchants. The last time Venice experienced such an extreme was in November 2019, when the water level in Venice rose to 125 cm. The next risk of “high water” is promised until around April due to floods.
Floods are caused by overflows of the Po River, as well as by wind blowing water from the sea. To protect against the latter, Venice even implemented the MOSE project — an experimental dam designed to protect against floods. The system consists of rows of mobile locks that allow the isolation of the Venetian lagoon from the Adriatic Sea when the tide exceeds the normal level (110 cm) and can reach 3 meters. Work on the project is still ongoing, meanwhile, low water levels are also becoming a problem.