While it looks delightful, environmentalists say that bioluminescent waves are a sign of climate change
Image sourced from mid-day archives
The waves of Juhu beach took on a fluorescent blue hue on Tuesday night, delighting several nightwalkers and revellers. The rare phenomenon, described as bioluminescence, is the second of its kind to be seen along the Mumbai coast. Bioluminescence is basically the production and emission of light by living marine organisms.
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Why the blue hue?
Microorganisms called phytoplankton have the ability to produce their own light. When the waves crash on the beach disturbing these unicellular organisms, they emit a neon blue light which makes the waves glow. This phenomenon is often called ‘blue tide.’ Many marine organisms like bacteria, algae, jellyfish have bioluminescent properties.
Is it a common sight in India?
Image sourced from mid-day archives
As per Indian Express, bioluminescence has been an annual occurrence along the west coast of India since 2016 in the months of November and December. It has occurred on the Juhu beach a few times. Other parts like, Goa, coastal Karnataka, Ratnagiri have also experience bioluminescence in the past.
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What does it mean?
While it looks delightful, environmentalists say that it a sign of climate change. Gurudas Nulkar, trustee of Ecology Society and professor at Symbiosis International University told Indian Express that “It is a spectacle but in reality, it is an ecological indicator of degraded water quality. The phytoplankton shows up where seawater has low dissolved oxygen and high presence of Nitrogen.”
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