Venice is known for its maze-like canals, Renaissance buildings and gondola rides. But what makes this picturesque city so famous is under threat due to human-caused climate change.

Venice is at risk due to a combination of sea-level rise, land subsidence, and extreme tourism. Because the city is built on a foundation of millions of ancient timber piles driven into the sediment of a lagoon, it has naturally been "sinking" for centuries (subsidence). This is now being accelerated by climate change, which has caused the average sea level to rise significantly, leading to more frequent and severe Acqua Alta (high water) flooding events. These floods allow salty lagoon water to seep into the porous brickwork and Istrian limestone of historic buildings, where salt crystallization causes structural decay. Furthermore, mass tourism places an immense physical and social burden on the city; the wake from large cruise ships (though now partially restricted) and motorized water traffic erodes the foundations of the canal-side palaces. The local population is also shrinking as residents are priced out by short-term rentals, threatening the city's status as a living community. While the MOSE barrier system (a series of mobile floodgates) now successfully protects the city from major surges, long-term projections suggest that the city could be largely submerged by 2100 if global warming is not mitigated.