Venice, famous for its gondola rides on the historic city’s canals, is seeing some of its smaller waterways run dry.
A prolonged period of low tides and no rain has stranded gondolas, leaving their crews frustrated.
Famous as a tourist attraction, in place of roadways the canals are a critical part of the city’s infrastructure, too.
But ambulance boats cannot travel up the dry canals, forcing medical crews to hand-carry stretchers over long distances, The Associated Press reports.
Built on smaller islands off the northeastern coast of Italy, Venice is accustomed to 50-centimetre tidal variations in the sea level. But after the recent spell of low tides, many small canals in the city have been reduced to puddles and muck.
High atmospheric pressure combined with the lunar cycle are causing the lower than normal tides, environmental scientist Jane Da Mosto told The Associated Press.
Larger waterways including the Grand and Giudecca canals have not been affected during this dry spell.
--------
With reports from The Associated Press
