Earlier this week, we saw the effects of less pollution over China and northern Italy after the countries went into lockdown.
Now, people are seeing astonishing scenes from Venice’s canals.
The typically murky waters are now clear in some areas that fish started returning, swans, and some dolphins too!
Residents filmed the water clearing up and fish becoming noticeable as tourism and activities in the city were put on hold due to coronavirus outbreak.
Albert Folaz shared photos of the waters and wrote: “The canals of Venice without boat traffic !! The result? Crystal clear water.”
Another resident, 31-year-old Martina Bettoni, said: “Seeing so many fish in the canals was extremely rare before the quarantine.
“I hope we’ll learn from this tragic time, and that when this is over Venice will be able to strike a balance between tourist crowds and cleanliness.”
Some people saw it as a spot of light in the darkness of coronavirus. Katia Fameli wrote: “What a marvel this Venice was; this virus brought something…beautiful.”
The Venice mayor’s office said to CNN that the change is not because of improved water quality.
A spokesman said: “The water now looks clearer because there is less traffic on the canals, allowing the sediment to stay at the bottom,” a spokesperson said.
“It’s because there is less boat traffic that usually brings sediment to the top of the water’s surface.”
Water pollution may not have decreased significantly but air quality has definitely improved, said the spokesperson.
“The air, however, is less polluted since there are less vaporetti and boat traffic than usual because of the restricted movement of residents,” he added.
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Replaced!