The prolonged low tide that is occurring in delicate Venice is causing problems these days, as it is impossible to navigate through some canals and many of the gondolas are stranded in the mud, coinciding with one of its most touristic periods due to the celebration of the famous carnival.
The Venice Tide Forecast Center has reported that the tide will be between minus 55 and minus 60 centimeters between Saturday and Tuesday, the key days of Carnival.
An inner city canal at low tide in Venice
This is a fairly typical phenomenon in the lagoon at the beginning of the year, but it is lasting a little longer than usual due to a mixture of factors, among which the lack of rain that plagues the entire region and the country stands out.
“The anticyclonic drought with high pressure does not make the water rise. In addition, the currents coming from the north prevent the development of the tides in the Adriatic. Next weekend, among other things, there will also be a full moon, in which the The maximums are higher and the minimums are lower,” the head of the tidal center, Alvise Papa, told “Corriere della Sera” on Friday.
A small boat at the bottom of a canal at low tide in Venice
He explained that although it is usual to “worry about the arrival of the high tide, in this case attention is focused on the opposite phenomenon, motivated precisely by the astronomical minimum with a sea level well below the average.”
All of this, in addition to tarnishing the beauty of the “City of Canals”, is causing major problems for the population, since navigation is impossible at many points and, therefore, it is impossible to reach houses even in case of emergency.
Low tide causes serious mobility problems in the city
“We are facing the difficulties of an environmental situation that makes the management of rescue operations in the lagoon even more complex,” said the head of the Venice emergency service, Paolo Rosi.
“Our operators are often forced to stop the vehicles at a certain distance from the destination point and continue on foot, in many cases with a patient that must be carried in their arms,” he added regarding a problem that the fire brigade also suffers. or law enforcement.
The minimum threshold of water to navigate is 60 centimeters
The minimum tidal threshold, minus 60 centimeters, from which navigability ceases to be safe, also applies to public transport, in which a division plan and diversion of the lines must be intervened, very similar to that of the tide high.
In addition, dozens of dead fish have appeared these days in the canals, according to local media, something that according to some experts could be due to the low temperatures these days and low tide, but not all support this hypothesis.