Venice, traditionally plagued by floods, has faced low water levels in its canals, so gondolas cannot move around the city, The Guardian newspaper reported.
“Weeks of dry winter weather have raised fears that Italy will face a serious drought again this year. In the Alps, for example, less than half of the winter rainfall has fallen, and in Venice gondolas cannot navigate some of the city’s famous canals because the water level has dropped too low,” the newspaper writes.
As the newspaper notes, the problems of Venice are caused by several factors – lack of rain, high pressure, sea currents and others.
Meanwhile, the drought affects not only the canals of Venice: the rivers and lakes in the north of the country are also acutely short of water.
According to environmentalists Legambiente, the water level in Italy’s largest river Po decreased by 61% compared to normal values for this time of year.
According to climatologist Massimiliano Paschi of the Italian research institute CNR, 500 mm of water needs to be restored in northwestern Italy, which is equivalent to 50 days of heavy rain.
In the summer of 2022, Europe was hit hard by the worst drought in 70 years. Some rivers and lakes dried up in the countries. In Italy and France, residents’ consumption of fresh water was limited.
