Climate Catastrophe Across Europe Including Venice
Nothing could give us a visual reminder of what happens when the sea rises than the city of Venice. It has experienced the highest tides in Venice in 50 years, which is putting the entire town at risk. And yet, politicians are dragging their feet and lining their pockets.
from: Om Malik: “Venice and Climate Change“
Catastrophic Weather around the Mediterranean. The biggest flood in Venice since the 60’s caused the largest publicity, but also other severe events
There are multiple lines of evidence:
- a deterring Video on Venice,
- an equally (more?) deterring video from town in Sicily,
- massive amounts of snow together with closed roads (including Brenner)
- avalanches,
- torrential Rain in Rome,
- generally dangerous situations in Italy.
The Washington Post reports in “Venice floods threaten priceless artwork and history — and a unique way of life”:
Flooding in Venice is not merely an inexpensive inconvenience. Named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, Venice is home to priceless works of art by such Italian Renaissance masters as Tintoretto, Giorgione and Titian; historic basilicas; and a unique way of lagoon-based metropolitan living for about 50,000 residents. According to experts, it’s also a sobering preview of how climate change, accelerated by human behavior, will not just complicate Venetians’ unique and fragile way of life but wash it away entirely.
and a quote from Michael Oppenheimer:
The threat is if Venice becomes uninhabitable by normal humans beings. One of the great things about Venice is that real people live there and go about their daily business
(Venice also hosts many old texts in the Biblioteca Marciana)
The German weather service (DWD) explains the meteorological cause for this havoc in many parts of Europe: relatively stationary conditions of a high pressure in eastern Europe, and low pressure over France. This leads to cold air with polar origins being drawn into western Europe at the western side of the low pressure system, take up moisture over the still relatively warm Mediterranean Sea, and are being moved northwards, against the Alps on the western side of the high pressure system.
The jet stream, as discussed by Stefan Rahmsdorf, tells the same story: southward movement of air west of the UK, movement across the warm Mediterranean Sea, and northward movement over Italy.
But, not only in Europe: No rain together with fires in Australia.