Erie images have shown how freak weather conditions have turned a strip of the Vietnam coastline blood red.
Frightened tourists have shunned boat trips into the South China Sea off the beaches at Thien Cam Town in Ha Tinh Province over fears of pollution.
One boatman told local media: “I have not been out into the sea for the past couple days, and some tourists also said they do not dare go into the water out of concern over water quality.”
Photographs of the coastline show wave after wave of bright red water washing in on the tide on the otherwise pristine coast on 22nd March.
But experts say the creepy colour has not caused by pollution but by a type of pink-hued algae called Chlamydomonas Chlamydomonas nivalis.
Sun And Moon Cause Record-High Sea Water Levels
Local officials from Cam Nhuong Commune told local media that rough seas had churned up the algae from deeper water, where it thrives, and sent it to the shore.
Some algae carry the pigment phycoerythrin. Which is responsible for the colour of the sea changing. Typically released when the algae blooms in the sea as a result of overgrowth.
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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