Venice’s famous canals are now drying

Subject : Geography

Section: Places in news

Concept :

A high-pressure system is stuck over Venice, creating low tides, which has led to low water levels and dry canals.
However, experts suggest the root cause behind the issue is the drought-like situation across Italy.
Apart from this, tourists have also been left disappointed as gondolas, the flat-bottom long boats that travel under the famous bridges of Venice, can’t navigate the dried-up routes.
Note : In 2019, the city of venice was flooded due to high tides.

Acqua alta

Acqua alta is the name given to exceptionally high tides in the Adriatic Sea.
Late autumn and winter are the seasons for high tides or acqua alta in Venice.
The phenomenon occurs mainly between autumn and spring, when the astronomical tides are reinforced by the prevailing seasonal winds that hamper the usual reflux.
The main local winds involved are the sirocco and the Bora.

City of Venice

Located in northern Italy, the city of Venice has a unique geography.
It is a collection of over 118 small islands spread over a lagoon, which is a kind of water body that is separated from a larger water body through some kind of land formation.
Covering 70,176.4 ha., the Venetian lagoon is separated from the Adriatic Sea.
The islands are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave rivers.
The lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Venice has been known as “La Dominante”, “La Serenissima”, “Queen of the Adriatic”, “City of Water”, “City of Masks”, “City of Bridges”, “The Floating City”, and “City of Canals”.

Water Crisis in Italy

Since last summer, the region has been seeing a severe shortage of water in its rivers and lakes.
Italian Alps have received nearly half of the normal snowfall during this winter. This is worrying as snow is an important source of water in spring and summer when, by melting, it ensures water supplies in the months it is most needed.
Meanwhile, Italy’s longest river, the Po, which travels from the Alps to the Adriatic, has 61 per cent less water than normal at this time of year.
To make matters worse, Italy’s largest lake, Lake Garda, is also suffering from low water levels.