Bad Omens: Drought Alert Looms Over Italy as Venice Canals Run Dry

The country's most devastating drought in 70 years forced the Italian government in July 2022 to declare a state of emergency in five northern regions. Agriculture had taken a severe hit, as farmers struggled to keep their crops alive.

Gondolas, water taxis and ambulances are standing idle, tied up along some of Venice’s iconic canals because of severe low tide, with scientists sending out dire warnings.

We have all become accustomed to the sight of Italy’s famous tourist venue, the city of Venice, inundated, with visitors trudging through flooded St. Mark's square in wellies. But now there are worries that last July's drought - the worst in decades that prompted the government to declare a state of emergency in the north of Italy - will be repeated this summer.

The country has suffered weeks of extremely dry winter weather, with the Alps having received less than half the snowfall typical for the season, according to scientists and environmental groups. Specifically in Venice, the current plight is being blamed on a combination of factors, ranging from lack of precipitation and a high pressure system, to a full moon and the sea currents.

This photograph taken on February 20, 2023, shows gondola tied up in Venice Canal Grande, during a severe low tide in the lagoon city of Venice.

© AFP 2023 / MARCO SABADIN

In the north of the country, the situation is particularly worrying, with the rivers and lakes already showing drastic lack of water. Italy’s longest river, the Po, which runs from the Alps in the north-west to the Adriatic, is at its lowest levels for around 35 years. The Po at present has 61 percent less water than it ought to have at this time of year, the Legambiente environmental group highlighted in a statement on 20 February.

Lake Garda, the largest lake in Italy and a tremendously popular holiday location in northern Italy, on the route between Brescia and Verona, is witnessing record low water levels. Startling images from the lake show that a pathway has been exposed by the receding water allowing visitors to reach the island of San Biagio on the lake on foot.

The weather has also been linked to an anticyclone dominating western Europe for slightly more than two weeks, bringing warmer than usual weather.

People walk on August 16, 2022 on the rocks of the peninsula of Sirmione on Lake Garda, northern Italy, as the lake's waters recede due to severe drought.

© AFP 2023 / MIGUEL MEDINA

"We are in a water deficit situation that has been mounting since the winter of 2020-21. We need to recover 500 millimeters in the north-western regions: we need 50 days of rain,” climate expert Massimiliano Pasqui, from Italian scientific research institute CNR, was quoted as saying by Italian media.

An aerial view taken on August 16, 2022 shows the peninsula of Sirmione on Lake Garda, northern Italy, as the lake's waters recede due to severe drought.

© AFP 2023 / MIGUEL MEDINA

Warnings of a drought that could affect farming, hydropower and availability of drinkable water come after Italy having been forced last year to declare a state of emergency for areas surrounding the Po. The area, accounting for about a third of the country’s agricultural production, had been hit by the most devastating drought in 70 years.

The 2022 drought resulted in an estimated €6Bln ($6.4Bln) damage to agricultural produce, according to Italy’s biggest farmers’ association, Coldiretti. Unless spring brings the much-needed rains with it, a third of this year's production is at risk, the association added.

The Po River in the area of the municipality of Castelmassa, in the region of Veneto, were water is rationed amid the worst drought to affect northern Italy’s rivers in 70 years.

© AFP 2023 / MARCO SABADIN