Secondary Venice canals dry up because of prolonged low tides

Some of Venice’s small canals are almost dry due to long tides, annoying boat crews and bewildered tourists.

The lingering tidal waves are linked to a high-pressure weather system that is still lingering over much of Italy, experts say.

Since the canals are the streets of Venice with less cars, the phenomenon of recent times has increased the challenges of daily life in the lagoon city.

Ambulance ships in some cases had to be tied up further away from their destination, forcing medical crews to sometimes carry stretchers with long arms as their ships could not move forward continuously in water droplets and muck.

For tourists, that means gondolas can’t navigate some of the secondary waterways that lie beneath Venice’s magnificent bridges.

In mid-winter, high atmospheric pressure combined with the lunar cycle produces the lowest water levels at low tide, said Jane Da Mosto, an environmental scientist and sustainable development analyst with We Are Here Venice, an environmental advocacy group.

He added that the phenomenon highlights the lack of attention to the need to clean Venice’s deep canal network.

Navigation continues along the main waterways, including the Grand and Giudecca canals.

Separately, the same high-pressure system coupled with this year’s rare alpine snowfall has been a factor in reducing lakes and rivers in northern Italy in recent weeks. This month, the isthmus that connects the shores of Lake Garda to the small islands has reappeared, delighting visitors who can, in reality, walk in the middle of the lake.