STORY: :: A massive dark patch appears off the Rio de Janeiro coast near Barra da Tijuca Beach
:: May 15, 2025
:: Reuters drone shots show brownish water standing out against the ocean’s blue
:: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
:: A biologist told Reuters the dark patch is linked to urban growth
:: Mario Moscatelli, Biologist
“What is this stain associated with? Urban growth, whether ordered or disordered, doesn’t have universal sanitation throughout the region. In other words, the sewage flows down the rivers, into the lagoon and from the lagoon into the sea.”
“Today you can see that the color is greener. Why? Because it probably has cyanobacteria, which are a type of algae that multiply in very unhealthy conditions when you have a lot of sewage in the lagoons.”
The stain appeared on Wednesday (May 14) off the Barra da Tijuca Beach, in western Rio.
Reuters drone shots show the water as brownish, contrasting with the ocean’s blue.
“The sewage flows down the rivers, into the lagoon, and from the lagoon into the sea,” biologist Mario Moscatelli told Reuters.