Venice: Unusual phenomenon - canals have almost dried up

Created: 03/23/2022, 13:24

By: Martina Lippl

Venice: Low water is causing problems for the lagoon city on the Adriatic.

© imago

Venice usually has to struggle with too much water.

Things are currently looking completely different in the lagoon city.

Small canals have almost dried up.

It is unusual.

Venice – The water level in Venice has already dropped by almost 50 centimetres.

The city on the Adriatic seems almost dried up.

Gondolas sink into the small channels in the silt.

How far the water has sunk can be clearly seen from the vaporetto landing stages.

The boats dock more than half a meter below normal.

The wooden jetties on the Canale Grande rise unreal out of the water.

Some motor boats almost disappear underneath.

Videos in the social networks show impressively how the low water affects.

It's an unusual phenomenon.

Instead of romance, mud spreads in the canals.

Venice phenomenon - low water drains canals

The low water in Venice has been exceptional since the end of last week.

The “aqua alta” – the high water – is actually typically Venetian.

If the sea level rises more than 80 centimeters in Venice, the authorities speak of flooding.

With a high tide of more than 1.40 meters, 59 percent of the city area is flooded, according to local authorities.

It's the photos of tourists wading across St. Mark's Square in rubber boots that spring to mind for many when they hear the term "aqua alta".

Some of you will certainly remember the devastating flood in November 2019. Venice was flooded by a catastrophic tidal wave on the night of November 13, 2019.

The water, driven by the so-called Scirocco wind, rose to 1.87 meters at the time.

"Aqua bassa" - Extreme low water in Venice - phenomenon

The water level plays a major role in Venice.

The city is supplied on the canals.

The waterways are part of the public transport system for both goods and tourists.

During floods, bridges become impassable.

Boats can get stranded in the canals.

Now too little water causes adverse conditions.

Gondolas get stuck in the mud.

Low water is a rare phenomenon, but it does happen again and again.

The tide fluctuations depend on various factors.

But this time the low water level is extraordinary.

Is Venice drying up?

Why is there so little water in some canals?

There are various reasons why Venice is on the dry end at the moment.

Hardly any rain has fallen in northern Italy in recent weeks.

Some rivers are currently dry.

In Germany, too, the fantastic spring weather is becoming more and more of a problem.

The high-pressure weather has also persisted in Italy for some time.

On the other hand, the wind usually blows weakly from the north-west.

The sea water is pushed away from Venice.

The full moon last Friday also increased the ebb and flow on the Adriatic.

At the weekend and on Monday evening, the level was minus 55 centimeters below the Mediterranean Sea.

On Tuesday (March 22) it was still minus 48 centimeters, local media reports.

As the week progresses, low tide will continue to decrease, as indicated by the official tide forecast for the Venice Lagoon area.

The moon is waning.

According to the authority, the calculation for the astronomical forecast uses observation data from the last fifteen years.

For the crescent on March 25, 2022, the level develops more moderately.

The authorities expect "normal tides".

Venice: This is what the water level looks like in the next few days.

© comune.venezia.it

Low water in Venice a record?

The values ​​​​of over half a meter since last week are already remarkable.

But the values ​​are not a record for Venice.

In January 2018 at least minus 66 centimeters were recorded and at the end of February 2008 a record of minus 83 centimeters

can be read at

By the way: no rain is to be expected in Venice in the next few days.

In the long term, however, climate researchers have a gloomy prognosis for the lagoon city: Venice will definitely go under.