Anders Levermann said it is only a matter of time before Venice “drowns” for good in a shocking interview with German publication De Zeit days after a terrifying flood in the Italian city saw water levels triple to more than 1.5 metres within a week. He said: “Based on the power of physical laws, we can say that in the future we will experience extreme weather events like this with climate change more frequently and more intensively. “The warmer we make the planet, the more powerful the heavy rainfall and the higher the sea level. All of this may have intensified the flooding in Venice. In this case, another factor could have contributed: the jetstream.
“A look at the current course of the stream shows that the winds do not blow from west to east, as they usually do north of Italy, but that they have swerved slightly under Europe and are moving from the south to the northwest in Italy.”
He also claims there flooding in Venice to be connected to the extreme snowfall in some parts of Austria.
He said: “This is exactly how there could also be a connection with the high water in Venice. Whether that is true, must be examined in more detail though.”
He added: “For every degree that the Earth is warming, according to our calculations, which IPCC has taken on board, we will see a sea level rise of about two and a half metres. Although this happens very slowly – possibly within hundreds of years – it also means: In the long run, Venice will be under the sea level. If we kept the 2-degree target of the Paris Climate Agreement, we would have to expect about 5 metres of sea-level rise in the long term.
“Venice will definitely drown. Large coastal cities such as Hamburg, Shanghai, Hong Kong and New York would also have to adjust to the fact that large parts will be metres below sea level.
His words echo those of Venice’s Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, who said he was convinced that climate change was partly responsible for the flood.
Last week, St Mark’s Square in Venice was closed over fears for people’s safety after the highest tide in 50 years left Venice under water.
Mr Brugnaro declared a state of emergency last Wednesday after “apocalyptic” floods swept through the canal city, destroying the historic basilica and squares and centuries-old buildings.
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Following the highest levels, St Mark’s Square re-opened at about 1.30pm GMT (2.30pm local time) today. The City of Venice council said public transport would resume this afternoon while walkways were being installed.
In normal conditions, levels of 80-90cm are generally seen as high but manageable.
Shopkeepers tried to shore up their businesses on Saint Mark’s Square on Friday morning – many said they had closed to customers 10 days ago when levels broke through the 110 cm threshold.
Snow was expected in the city of Belluno, in the northern part of the Veneto region, at the foot of the Dolomites, potentially making the situation in Venice worse.
The government declared a state of emergency for Venice on Thursday and allocated an initial 20 million euros ($22 million) to address the immediate damage.
The government will hold an extraordinary meeting on November 26 to discuss “governance and the structural problems of the city,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Friday in an interview with daily Corriere della Sera.
Additional reporting by Monika Palenberg.