The Venice sea level may rise by as
much as 1.2 metres by 2100 as global warming causes global
waters to surge, according to the latest study out Wednesday.
The study, by the universities of the Salento and Ca' Foscari in
Venice, has just come out in the journal Natural Hazards and
Earth System Sciences.
It said that, depending on how global sea level rises go, the
level of the water in Venice could rise by between 17 and 120
centimetres.
Georg Umgiesser, one of the researchers, said that the iconic
lagoon city's survival was currently linked to the MOSE flood
barriers, but if forecasts were wrong then the system could be
"overwhelmed".
It may be necessary to close the entire lagoon for a year in
2075 to cope with the rise in the sea level, he said.
"The projections up till 2100 are not by any means certain but
the city must be prepared," Umgiesser said.
Venice has been protected from the 'acqua alta' that used to
regularly submerge it by the MOSE, which became operational last
year.
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