Glacial ice on Italy's Alps turns a shade of pink due to algae, leads to concerns of melting

Pink glacial ice has mysteriously appeared in the Alps. The pink hue is caused by algae that accelerate the effects of climate change.

According to a report by AFP, Biagio Di Mauro from Italy’s National Research Council said the pink snow observed on parts of the Presena glacier is most likely caused by the same plant found in Greenland.

The report quoted Di Mauro as saying, “The alga is not dangerous, it is a natural phenomenon that occurs during the spring and summer periods in the middle latitudes but also at the Poles."

Ancylonema nordenskioeldii is the scientific name for the plant which is present in Greenland’s so-called Dark Zone, where the ice is also melting. The report mentions that normally ice reflects more than 80 percent of the sun’s radiation. However, with the arrival of the algae, it absorbs the heat and starts to melt faster.

Di Mauro said everything that darkens the snow leads to rapid melting because of its accelerated absorption of radiation.  “We are trying to quantify the effect of other phenomena besides the human one on the overheating of the Earth,”  Di Mauro added.

According to a Phys.org report, tourists have been lamenting the changing hues of the glacier and its impact on climate change.

A tourist Marta Durante was quoted as saying that with overheating of the planet already is a problem, the last thing they needed was algae. Durante added, “Unfortunately we are doing irreversible damage. We are already at the point of no return, I think."

Another tourist, Elisa Pongini went on to add that she thinks the Earth is giving back everything that has been meted out to the planet.

“In my opinion, atmospheric phenomena are worsening. Climate change is increasingly evident,” Pongini said.