SAO PAULO (AP) — The lake in Sao Paulo’s iconic Ibirapuera Park has turned green in recent weeks as Brazil struggles with a historic drought that both amuses and alarms park visitors.
The green color results from a combination of algae blooms, abundant nutrients, high temperatures and a lack of rain in the Brazilian metropolis, city hall said in a statement on Thursday. It added that the lake’s low water level makes it more difficult for a pump to remove the algae.
Sidney Cardoso, a 49-year-old photographer, said he had never seen the lake water look so green.
“We know it’s different when it’s completely full,” he said.
Ibirapuera is considered the largest park in Sao Paulo and is close to the city center. It is home to the Afro Brazil Museum and the pavilion that hosts the Sao Paulo Art Biennale. The lake is also called ‘the soul of the park’. Many paulistanos, as Sao Paulo residents are known, enjoy exercising in the neighborhood every day, and thousands of families come to picnic and exercise in the area on weekends.
The green hue of the lake is just the latest reflection of the harsh climatic conditions. Earlier this month, drought caused Sao Paulo’s Pinheiros River to turn green, also due to an algae bloom. And the city’s sky turned gray, filled with smoke from distant fires in the Amazon rainforest.
Next to the lake, Silvia Alves, a nutritionist who often exercises there, said Thursday that she felt the algae had improved air quality in the area.
“As I breathe, I become more euphoric than normal,” she said after a series of jumping jacks.
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