Lonar Lake, a 50,000-year-old body of water formed by a meteor-strike, has undergone significant transformation
A lake in India which wasn’t pink before, has now turned pink, baffling locals.
Lonar Lake, about 300 miles east of Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra, is a body of water formed by an impact crater from a meteor which struck the Earth some 50,000 years ago.
In recent weeks, the colour of the water in the crater has changed from an unremarkable green to a more remarkable reddish pinky tinge.
It is thought changes to the salinity of the water may be partly responsible for the recent colour alteration, while the presence of unusual bacteria may also play a role. Due to dry weather the lake has also become shallower.
In a video posted to Maharashtra Tourism’s Twitter feed, local geologist Gajanan Kharat said the colour of the lake had changed in the past, but had not done so quite so vividly.
“It’s looking particularly red this year because this year the water’s salinity has increased,” he said.
“The amount of water in the lake has reduced and the lake has become shallower, so the salinity has gone up and caused some internal changes.”
Scientists have taken samples of the water for analysis, which will reveal the main reason for the colour change.
Source: Independent