MOSE

Each day we give the world globe a spin and find a news story from wherever it stops, and today we've landed in Venice, Italy, where experts say the floating city needs a plan B. Venice is built across more than 100 tiny islands where canals replace roads and boats replace cars.

To protect its streets and buildings from flooding, the city relies on MOSE.

It's a system of 78 barriers hidden on the sea bed at entrances to its lagoon.

When dangerously high water is forecast, air is pumped into the gates, forcing out the water inside and making them swing upwards to temporarily block out the Adriatic Sea.

It sounds brilliant, and so far it has been.

Since 2020, MOSE has prevented more than 150 floods, but new research says rising seas mean the barriers are being raised much more often than expected, and eventually they might need to remain closed for months each year, and that creates a problem.

Leave them open and Venice floods.

Keep them closed and the lagoon can't exchange water with the sea, trapping pollution, harming wildlife, and blocking ships.