Venice's canals cleaner after lockdown, fish seen again

Venice, March 18
There is one unexpected benefit of the lockdown in coronavirus-battered Italy, the world's second most affected country after China with a death toll above 2,500 and over 30,000 cases. Venice's iconic canals are at their cleanest in decades.

A BBC report quoted residents of Venice as saying that they are seeing a marked improvement in the water quality of the canals that run through the city. The canals are clear, and fish can even be seen in the usually murky waters.

With the coronavirus lockdown leaving the streets of Venice desolate, the major drop in plying of the gondolas and vaporettos (water taxis) has allowed the sediment to settle, and the water to appear the cleanest in quite a long time.