Rowers on the River Po in Turin are battling vast blooms of algae, as high temperatures in northwest Italy and runoff from farms create ideal conditions for rampant plant growth.
"Look at these (plants), if you put your oar in, they wouldn't let it go," rowing coach Roberto Romanini told AFP, as four rowers struggled in their boat through a patch of green slime.
Sitting between the Alpine chain on one side and hills on the other, heavily urbanised Turin has suffered soaring temperatures this summer, as heatwaves rendered more intense by man-made climate change have gripped Italy.
And the Po, Italy's longest river, is struggling.
It has experienced a significant decline in flow, down 50 percent on its yearly average, due to low rainfall and persistently high temperatures in June and July.
