The waters of the ancient Lake Lonar in the Indian state Maharashtra suddenly turned pink just a few days ago. Scientists are finding out what exactly caused this unusual phenomenon.
Experts have some assumptions: they believe that the color of the water could have been affected by an increase in the concentration of salt, algae, or a combination of these two factors. There is already an example of such a phenomenon in the world — this is part of the Great Salt Lake in Utah and Lake Hiller in Australia.
Gajanan Kharat, a local geologist, said in the video that this lake had previously turned pink, but this is not was so noticeable, writes CNN.
“This year it looks especially red because the salinity of the water has increased this year,” he said. “The amount of water in the lake has decreased, the lake has become shallower, so the salinity has increased and caused some internal changes.”
Experts are already looking into whether the appearance of red algae affects the color of the water, he said. Kharat said that samples have been sent to several laboratories to find out exactly the cause of this phenomenon.
Lonar Lake is located about 500 kilometers east of Mumbai. It was formed about 50,000 years ago, after a meteorite fell to Earth. Lonar is a popular tourist attraction and the subject of study by scientists around the world.
