Toxic algae blooms are the new normal as CO2 levels keep rising

Enlarge / An algal bloom clogging a waterway near Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland. (credit: Chris Banaiuk)

Standing on the marina, Rob Skelly peers into the darkness of the river where bright speckles of algae drift in the water. A neon green invader. “It’s starting to build,” he says. “Tomorrow, you’ll find that there’s clumps like that all over the river—and then the day after that there’ll be more and more.”

Until this summer, Skelly had never seen algae wax and wane like this in the River Bann, a major waterway in Northern Ireland. The owner of the Cranagh Activity Centre set up his thriving water sports business 27 years ago, and it has been in this location since 2015. The algae has killed it. Following news reports of toxin-producing blue-green algae in lakes and rivers around Northern Ireland, people began canceling their bookings for water-skiing lessons and similar activities in droves.

Skelly doesn’t blame them. “How can I put customers into that?” he says, looking at the mottled water below us. The season ruined, Skelly has decided to close his business for good. “You know, it’s heartbreaking.”