Venice lagoon transforms from land into marine environment due to sea level rise

Venice's famous lagoon is slowly turning into open sea, scientists warn. The shallow wetland, which covers around 550 square kilometres in northern Italy, is getting deeper as sea levels rise and waves wear away its mudflats and salt marshes. The land itself is also sinking, by up to six millimetres a year in some areas. Together, these forces are eroding the lagoon faster than natural sediment can replace what is lost. Venice, built on 128 islands, has always been vulnerable to flooding. A major flood in 1966 reached nearly two metres above normal high water, damaging many historic buildings. Since 2020, a barrier system called MOSE has blocked the worst storm surges by raising large gates across the three sea inlets that connect the lagoon to the Adriatic.