The Blue Button is a small, jellyfish-like organism that lives a free-floating life on the sea surface

This is not a single animal; it is a colony of several ‘zooids’

According to experts, Blue Buttons drift wherever winds and surface currents take them

When sea temperatures rise or cyclonic winds intensify, these floating organisms are pushed closer to the shore, which can be seen as a small but visible sign of changing ocean conditions

Despite their jellyfish-like appearance, Blue Buttons are colonies of hydroid polyps, not a single organism. They drift on the ocean’s surface, carried by winds and currents, and use stinging cells to catch plankton for food. Meanwhile, ahead of the approaching monsoon, large numbers of Blue Buttons were found washed ashore at Chowpatty in Mumbai last week