The River Oden wildlife killer case may have been solved

After running multiple tests, scientists at the Institute of Freshwater Ecological and Inland Fisheries (IGB) found large quantities of golden algae in Oder water samples.

They believe this rare phenomenon could have only occurred due to elevated salinity levels in the water caused by industrial pollution, and they could be onto something.

Further investigation revealed that a local copper smelting company KGMH had released large amounts of salt water from its refinery into the river around the end of July and August.

Polish Waters, the government body that oversees the health of the inland waters, did not prevent or stop the water from being released, even when they had started noticing marine life in the area wasn’t handling it so well.

On the other hand, researchers believe hotter temperatures haven’t helped the health of the river.

Regular heatwaves and prolonged drought across Europe have caused the Oder River to shrink in size. As a result, the concentration of pollutants and salt in the leftover water begins to rise, causing an imbalance in the biology of the water.

IGB scientists warn that climate change could see harmful overgrowths of toxic algae occur in hotter, dryer summers.

This won’t be an isolated issue, as rivers around the world will be affected by climate change and ultimately see their salinity levels grow to nourishing levels for invasive algae species.

Authorities keeping a closer eye on what industrial factories are emptying out into the natural environment probably won’t help either!