Exceptional low tide sees Venice’s canals run dry

An exceptional low tide left Venice’s famous canals almost dry yesterday, with traditional gondolas and boats effectively beached as water levels reached a peak of -48 cm, creating an unusual landscape in the lagoon city. Venice, beloved around the world for its canals, historic architecture and art, has always lived in a fragile balance between low and high tides, that usually create variations of around 50cm in sea levels. Flooding is a constant concern in the city built on a collection of small islands within a saltwater lagoon off the north-eastern coast of Italy, with every new incursion damaging its medieval and Renaissance palaces. Venice’s floods are caused by a combination of factors, exacerbated by climate change -- from rising sea levels and unusually high tides to land subsidence that has caused the ground level of the city to sink.