Water On The Italian Venice Canal Surut, Gondola To Water Taxis Can't Operate

Illustration of the grand canal of Venice. (Wikimedia Commons/gnuckx)

JAKARTA - Dry winter weather for weeks has raised concerns that Italy will face another drought after last summer, where the Alps received less than half of its normal snowfall, according to scientists and environmental groups.

The warning comes as Venice, where floods are usually a major concern, experiencing draining of canal water, making gondola, water taxis and ambulances unable to cross popular canals.

The problems in Venice are caused by several factors, namely the lack of rain, high pressure systems, full moons and ocean currents.

Rivers and lakes in Italy experienced severe water shortages, environmental group Legambiente said on Monday, with attention focused on the north of the country.

The Po River, Italy's longest river that runs from the Alps in the northwest to the Adriatic Sea, has 61 percent less water than it usually does today, he added in a statement.

Last July, Italy declared a state of emergency for areas around Po, which accounts for about a third of the country's agricultural production and experienced its worst drought of 70 years.

"We are in a water deficit situation that has increased since winter 2020-2021," said climate expert Massimiliano Pasqui of the Italian scientific research institute, CNR, as quoted by Reuters from the daily Corriere della Sera February 23.

"We need to recover 500 millimeters in the northwest, we need 50 days of rain," he added.

The water level in Lake Garda in northern Italy has fallen to record lows, making it possible to reach the small island of San Biagio in the lake by walking on an open surface.

It is known, an anticyclone has dominated the weather in western Europe for 15 days, bringing about the mild temperatures that usually occur at the end of spring.

However, the latest weather forecast indicates the falling rainfall and much-needed snow in the Alps in the next few days.