Maharashtra: World Famous Lonar Lake Turns Pink Overnight; Probe Underway

Located in Buldhana district, about 500 km away from capital Mumbai, the lake is a hotspot for tourists all around the year, and also attracts scientists from all over the world.

Photo: AFP

The water of the world-famous Lonar Lake in Maharashtra has suddenly turned from bluish-green colour to slightly pink shade overnight, inviting astonishment to many. As soon as the news broke out, thousands of citizens from Lonar flocked to see the pink look of the lake. According to the initial reports, Tehsildar Saidan Nadaf was among the first few to notice the change, following which he inspected into the matter. Nadaf said that the sudden change has occurred nearly after two decades. "A similar change in colour of the Lonar lake was marked in around 2000, but it did not grab much attention then," Nadaf said, as quoted by an IANS report. Though the research is underway into what caused the water to change color, Buldhana Collector Suman R. Chandra, posted a photo of the lake on the social media and said that an algae could possibly be blooming. "Lonar Lake currently...Wonders of the Nature...Looks like an algae bloom primarily, but microbiologists can tell better...," she said.

#LonarLake currently. Wonders of the nature. @YaleBlueGreen @YaleFES @YaleE360 •#biodiversity #saltwaterlake #brilliantbuldhana pic.twitter.com/84l782FVwq

— Suman Rawat Chandra, IAS (@oiseaulibre3) June 10, 2020

Chandran further told IANS that the authorities have discussed it with teams of experts and have send the lake water samples for analysis to the NEERI and other institutions. "The exact reason for this phenomenon will be available after their reports come," she added. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation also shared few photos of the lake with pink water. "From Green to Pink; Lonar Crater Lake has changed its colour," it said.

From Green to Pink; Lonar Crater Lake has changed its colour.#LonarLake #LonarCrater #SaltWaterLake #MaharashtraTourism pic.twitter.com/2HmvOiyr6h

— Maharashtra Tourism (@maha_tourism) June 10, 2020

Know About Lonar Lake In Brief Lake Lonar, formed by meteorites, is the second largest saltwater lake in the world. Located in Buldhana district, about 500 km away from capital Mumbai, the lake is a hotspot for tourists all around the year, and also attracts scientists from all over the world. Globally known as the largest basaltic impact crater on the planet, the Lonar lake has a mean diameter of 1.2 kms, the rim is around 1.8 kms and the 150 metre deep water body rests around 140 metres below the rim. The 78-hectare lake's water is unique on Earth for its dual salt and alkaline qualities. Interestingly, the lake has found mention in ancient Indian and Mughal texts like Skanda Purana, Padma Purana and Ain-i-Akbari. It was created around 57,000 years ago, but was discovered only 197 years ago by a European J. E. Alexander in 1823.