The colour of Maharashtra’s Lonar lake in the Buldhana district has turned pinkish, the scientist are going to begin investigation to find out the cause.
The lake was formed when meteorite crashed into Earth around 50,000 years ago.
It is a popular tourist destination, and also attracts scientists from across the globe.
The Scientists notably said that it is not the first time that the lake has changed colour, they did express surprise at the intensity of the phenomenon this time around.
The lake is reported to be highly alkaline in nature with a pH of 10.5, but is also unique for its high levels of salinity.
According to Gajanan Kharat, a member of the Lonar Lake conservation and development committee, the proliferation of special algae in the lake may be responsible for the change in colour.
The reason behind the lake turning reddish pink or pinkish red (whatever you may like) is suspected to be algae but there is no confirmation yet.
Lonar lake water colour is suddenly changes. What is problem @ScienceMagazine, @anjanaomkashyap , @dhananjay_munde ,@isro , @NASA pic.twitter.com/DuGc1VCy8n
— RUSHIKESH TARE (@RUSHIKESHTARE2) June 10, 2020
“We will be collecting water samples and sending it to NEERI soon. We will know the exact reason within two weeks,” HT quoted MS Reddy, additional principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) and field director, Melghat Tiger Reserve as saying.
The water of Lonar Sarovar became PINK.
The water of the world famous Lonar Lake suddenly turned pink. Many peoples wondered why the green and blue lake turned into pink color, Tehsildar Saidan Nadaf visited the lake and inspected it.
 pic.twitter.com/J82Z7zCXfv— Prakhar Rashtrabhakt (@ProRashtrabhakt) June 10, 2020
Talking about a similar phenomenon that takes place in Umria lake in Iran MS Reddy told TOI that 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.
