From the beginning of when Venice was initially founded, the Adriatic Sea level was six feet below what it is today. Scientists believe that one of the main factors impacting the rising sea level is global warming and the burning of fossil fuels. In addition to the seriousness of global warming, Venice also suffers from sinking from natural settling of lagoon sediments and indiscriminate pumping of freshwater from deep aquifer beneath the city.
In the 1900's, the high tide only occurred seven times a year. In 1996, the high tide (higher than the initial level of the tide in the 1900's) occurred 99 times that year. As a result the infrastructure has been redeveloped to accommodate this rising problem, for example, elevated wooden walkways.
