By 2050 drastic measures have been taken to preserve coastal cities below or close to sea level. Currently, climate scientists predict that a 2℃ rise in global average temperature will result in a 50cm rise of sea level. By 2050, that number will be greater. Venice is, at average, just 1m above sea level; at its lowest point, the city is only 80cm above mareographic zero - this is the Piazza San Marco. For years Venice has been threatened by flooding, but now a project has commenced to nullify this risk. Giant barriers have been constructed on all of the city’s oceanfront areas, protecting the city from an inundation of seawater. Despite this success, there are other problems that come with climate change, including augmented wave heights and increased amounts of freak weather events. And to these problems, another solution has been created. Further out to sea, a number of oceanic surge-control facilities loom above the sea surface. They have been placed strategically around the city for maximum efficiency. Hubs of current-controlling technology, these facilities regulate the size and power of potential waves to ensure that hazardous swells do not reach Venice. This system prevents the coastal city from being swept beneath the waters of the Adriatic sea, preserving Venice for future generations.
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