11/06/2020
Experts surprised as Lonar lake turns red
APCCF & Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR) field director MS Reddy told TOI that similar phenomenon takes place in Umria lake in Iran. He said it was well documented. Scientists studying that have concluded that during dry seasons, water level goes down thus increasing salinity of water. The increased salinity and warm water becomes breeding ground for Dunaliella algae.
“This algae, under such circumstance turns red in colour. The halobacteria also uses a red pigment to absorb sunlight and convert it to energy. This also turns the water red,” he added
With monsoon, the water level will increase and water temperatures will go down turning the lake water back to its normal coloration,” Reddy said.
However, Harish Malpani, head, department of microbiology, RLT College of Science, Akola, said, “Halobacteria is not harmful to humans but its presence over there needs to be established. Sudden change in colour of water is strange. It might be because of microbial activities or human interference. Research should be conducted before making any comments.”
Article ref:TOI
