Northern Italian canal city of Venice is facing its first significant flood of the current rainy season, as the highest water level in the recent months is expected on Tuesday, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
Citing the latest Italian National Meteorological Service, the city government of Venice said water levels rose from 109 cm to 110 cm between Sunday and Monday, but are expected to further rise to 125 cm on Tuesday as factors, such as more rainfall combined with overloaded drainage systems, generally lead to city flooding.
According to the meteorological service, the floods are starting earlier than normal this year.
The higher the water level is, the greater the impact on the city. According to a statement from the city government of Venice, at 100 cm of flooding, around 5 percent of the city is beneath water. At 110 cm of flooding, 12 percent of the city is flooded.
If the water levels on Tuesday reach 125 cm as predicted by the meteorological service, it will be the highest since the water levels of the city reached 134 cm in April, the end of the previous rainy season. April's level was the highest on record since 1936.
Data from the meteorological service show that the rainy season in Italy has gradually extended and become more severe in recent years. This trend is in line with predictions in models from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which said in its Fifth Assessment Report that rising levels of carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gasses are likely to result in rising average temperatures and more severe weather.
According to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and many other sources, Venice is a city built on 118 islands that are divided by canals and connected by a total of more than 400 bridges.