MILAN. Many weeks of dry winter heighten fears that Italy could live another year humidity after last year’s high alert, when the Alps got half as much snow as usual. Scientists and environmental groups are sounding the alarm as Venice’s water levels have dropped significantly and gondolas can’t navigate the city’s many canals.

Traditionally Venice faces floods, the lack of rain this year, combined with low water levels due to the current phase of the moon, have created serious problems for the movement of residents. This phenomenon may be common for this time of year, but according to some experts, it has lasted a little longer and is predicted to continue even longer, possibly more than three days.

In 69% of cases, this occurs in winter between January and February. However, records of low water levels go far into the past. The lowest level was recorded in 1934, 121 cm below zero tide, and the second lowest level was recorded in 1989, 92 cm below.

The gondolas and boats of Venice, which attract hundreds of thousands of tourists visiting the city every year, are at the same time an integral functional part of the daily life of the Venetians, the inhabitants of the city, where the canals largely play the role of streets, which makes this year’s drought problematic on many levels. Many floating ambulances cannot reach patients’ homes or even city hospitals, and in many cases the transport of goods for sale, especially in small shops, is significantly delayed.

Also, since we are in the Halloween season, the 100,000 or so tourists who are currently in Venice are unable to tour the famous canals and have difficulty reaching many of the city’s attractions, as even the Grand Canal is currently difficult to cross. It is estimated that this will affect the city’s income from tourist arrivals.

Meteorologists attribute this phenomenon to the anticyclonic wind system that affected the whole of Europe and temporarily “stuck” over the city. “We have had at least fifteen years to observe this phenomenon with such a long duration,” meteorologist Alvise Papa told the local station. “We had a low tide in 2005 that lasted 48 hours,” he added.

An anticyclone lingering over northern Italy has also resulted in heavy fog in the cities of the Po Valley and affected the agricultural sector, while the canals of Venice are expected to remain dry until at least tomorrow.