56,000-Year-Old Lonar Lake In Maharashtra Has Turned Pink And No One Knows Why

The 56,000-year-old, Lonar lake or Lonar crater sanctuary lake in Buldhana district in Maharashtra has reportedly turned pink and has sparked an interest in the forest department, scientists and social media users.

The 77.69 hectare lake area is part of the Lonar sanctuary that totals 3.66 sqkm. It is the world¡¯s largest basaltic impact crater.

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¡°We are observing this for the first time. We will collect samples of the lake water for testing to find reason behind the occurrence. These samples will be sent to NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute), Nagpur, and Agarkar Research Institute, Pune,¡± TOI quoted MN Khairnar, deputy conservator of forests (wildlife), Akola as saying.

Lonar Lake Mystery

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. ¡°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.

Suddenly the waters of world famous Lonar Lake turned pink.whats going on? @ParveenKaswan pic.twitter.com/2sg0TIW3nF

¡ª Nandan Daga (@mrdagajee) June 10, 2020

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

¡ª Prakhar Rashtrabhakt (@ProRashtrabhakt) June 10, 2020

Lonar lake water colour is suddenly changes. What is problem @ScienceMagazine, @anjanaomkashyap , @dhananjay_munde ,@isro , @NASA pic.twitter.com/DuGc1VCy8n

¡ª RUSHIKESH TARE (@RUSHIKESHTARE2) 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.

¡°This algae, under such circumstance turns red in colour. The halobacteria also uses a red pigment to absorb sunlight and convert it to energy. This also turns the water red. With monsoon, the water level will increase and water temperatures will go down turning the lake water back to its normal coloration,¡± Reddy said.

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However, Harish Malpani, head, department of microbiology, RLT College of Science, Akola, told TOI ¡°Halobacteria is not harmful to humans but its presence over there needs to be established. Sudden change in colour of water is strange. It might be because of microbial activities or human interference. Research should be conducted before making any comments.¡±

Arun Mapari, an activist fighting to save Lonar lake said, ¡°The reason of its unique colour is still not fully understood by scientists. Though most suspect it has to do something with the presence of Dunaliella salina microalgae. Dunaliella produces carotenoids, a pigment found in carrots as well. But presence of halophilic bacteria in the salt crusts could be another explanation. A reaction between the salt and sodium bicarbonate found in the water may cause it as well.¡±

Well, looks like we got to wait to know exactly what is happening at the lake.

Lonar Lake History

The Lonar lake also called Lonar crater is estimated to be around 56,000 years old. It was initially believed that the crater was formed because of a volcanic eruption, though it has now been established that Lonar was formed due to asteroid or a comet impact. More recent studies suggest that the crater may even be 570,000 years old.

The crater has been mentioned in puranas and in Akbar era document called Ain-i-Akbari