Cyanobacterial blooms increase in sea, lakes

Cyanobacterial observations have increased in sea areas and lakes in Southern and Central Finland during the Midsummer week, said the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) in a press release on Thursday.

During the week, more and more blue-green algae have been observed in both lake and sea areas.

The hot weather in June has boosted the growth of blue-green algae, especially in Southern and Central Finland.

Although the number of cyanobacterial observations has increased, the vast majority of these observations still concern small amounts of blue-green algae.

SYKE observes the cyanobacteria occurrence as part of the monitoring of the state of the environment.

The national cyanobacterial monitoring is based on the monitoring of cyanobacterial deposits in surface water, and the intention is to provide an overview of the cyanobacterial situation in different water bodies.

This summer, cyanobacterial monitoring includes about 400 permanent observation sites across the country on inland and coastal waters and in the archipelago.

The SYKE usually reports on the national cyanobacterial situation on a weekly basis every Thursday from the beginning of June until the end of August. The weekly algal reporting on the national cyanobacterial monitoring was launched in 1998.