Venice is once again aware of its canals. This time the problem is not the acqua alta, the rise of the tide, but quite the opposite. La Serenísima is currently experiencing a drought in its canals that has left some impressive images that have gone around the world. The dehydration of the city's aquatic arteries is not an unusual phenomenon –it is quite common for it to happen at this time of year, between January and February–, but its long duration is unusual, something that has not happened in this way for 16 years. Some of the back canals have been virtually empty for several hours a day, preventing small boats and gondolas from passing through, and casting a shadow over the period of its famous carnival, which has attracted more than 100,000 tourists.
The problem is not only aesthetic, but the low tides make ordinary life difficult in a city that develops in the water. It already happened in the terrifying fire at the La Fenice opera house in 1996, when the tide was so low that it made it difficult for the fire brigade to arrive. Now, the fire brigades, but also those of the ambulances, have to use alternative channels and then their troops must move on foot through the alleys, which delays their service to the citizens. The same happens during periods of high tides, when sometimes boats cannot pass under the bridges. Another complication affects the transport of urban rubbish –which is also carried out by water–, especially in a period of so much attention like Carnival, where it is more necessary than ever. The same happens in the transport of goods: supermarkets must alter supply times so that they do not coincide with the hours of the lowest tides.
“This is the classic period of low tides, since between January and February around two thirds of the totals of the year appear. But this year has generated a lot of curiosity because it had been 16 years since we had such low values and, above all, for such a long time”, explains Alvise Papa, from the municipal tidal forecast center, by phone. On this occasion, the reason is not directly linked to climate change, but to a combination of factors, beginning with the anticyclone that is affecting this area of Europe. “There is no rain, as a consequence of a high atmospheric pressure that prevents the entry of the ocean, and also the level of the Adriatic is particularly low this February. On carnival days we were on a new moon and there were also winds from the north. Everything added leads to this coincidence ”, indicates the expert. As an example, the average level of the Adriatic, this February, is 2 centimeters, while in 2022 it was 21.
The peak came on Monday, when negative 68 centimeters were reached. Yesterday, the phenomenon was no longer so critical, with a minimum of -45 centimeters. In total, during January and February there have been 31 hours of very low tides (they last about three hours a day), while in past years a maximum of five hours occurred. Lately, the Venetian city had suffered much more from disasters such as the historic tide of November 2019, which at 187 centimeters was the worst since 1966 and caused countless damages to the city and merchants.
Everything coincides with an extremely dry winter in northern Italy that raises fears that last year's drought – the worst in 70 years – will repeat this summer, causing millions in losses. In Piedmont and Lombardy, snow reserves are 50% lower than the historical average during this time of year. The Po River, the largest in the country, also carries 61% less water than normal during these months, and a third of Italian agriculture depends on it. Venice is not the only postcard that appears dry. Since June, hundreds of tourists have been walking to the Isla de los Conejos, in Lake Garda, an image that has become a symbol of the drought in the Lombard lakes. But while this is attributed to climate change, experts deny that the general drought in northern Italy is directly related to the Venetian lagoon, which always follows its own course.
