Wildlife

Global warming reducing phytoplanktons in western Indian Ocean

Rapidly decreasing presence of marine phytoplankton, a micro-algae consumed by small fish and responsible for reducing carbon dioxide in sea water, in the western Indian Ocean due to global warming may reduce the oceanic region to an ecological desert, scientists have warned.

A joint study conducted by scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune and the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in Goa has revealed the quantum of phytoplankton has witnessed an alarming decrease at the rate of 20 percent over the last six decades.

Earlier studies had described the western Indian Ocean as a region with the largest increase in phytoplankton during the recent decades. On the contrary, the current study points out an alarming decrease of up to 20 percent in phytoplankton in this region over the past six decades,

The study has pointed out that the drop in phytoplankton in the western Indian Ocean is particularly alarming, because the oceanic region hosts one of the largest concentrations of marine phytoplankton blooms in summer.

Scientists at the Goa-based NIO have already warned of a potential fish famine off the coast of Goa, due to over-fishing and excessive pollution in the waters of India's western state.

Thousands of dead fish wash upon shore of Indian River

Thousands of dead fish washed up on the banks of a polluted lake on Monday in India's southern technology hub of Bangalore.

A stink pervaded the air in a residential district around Ulsoor Lake in central Bangalore. Sewage from many parts of the city has been flowing into the lake, depleting oxygen levels in the water.

India has some of the world's most polluted air. More than half of its 1.2 billion people still defecate in the open, causing rivers and lakes to stink with sewage.