After incessant rainfall in Chennai last week, a rare phenomenon was witnessed on the East Coast Road (ECR) beach on Friday and Saturday night. After the last sighting in 2019, Chennai residents were delighted to see the blue bioluminescent waves crashing onto the beach at night.
Videos of the rare phenomenon went viral on the social media platforms.
After the news of glowing waves spread over social media and WhatsApp, the city’s residents flocked to the ECR beach to watch the magical phenomenon.
The rare phenomenon is called bioluminescent water.
Anbumani Ramadoss, Rajya Sabha MP and former Union minister, also shared the rare sight in a video on microblogging platform X. “I just now enjoyed the mesmerising fluorescent waves at ECR beach!!” he wrote in the post.
The post garnered more than 24,000 views.
A user commented on it: “The radiant waves, just before crashing onto the shore, put on a stunning visual display, captivating everyone who witnessed it [sic].”
Another netizen wrote, “I witnessed this with my friends and my cat at around 10:30PM in Palavakkam Beach in Chennai.. Damn.. That was the best moment, even my cat’s eyes were glowing, [sic].”
What is Bioluminescence?
Bioluminescence is a natural chemical process that occurs when the sea sparkles neon blue, green, or even red.
Bioluminescence allows living things to produce light in their body.
Marine creatures like some fish, squid, tiny crustaceans, and algae produce light to confuse predators, attract prey, or even lure potential mates.
The bioluminescent sea will glow when it’s disturbed by a wave breaking or a splash on the water at night.
Humans can witness this natural phenomenon when there is lots of bioluminescence in the water, usually from an algae bloom of plankton.
Algae bloom sea sparkle events are caused by calm and warm sea conditions. But one can witness specks of bioluminescence when a light-producing marine creature creates it.
