The summer heat in recent weeks has accelerated the cyanobacteria, i.e. the algal bloom, in the Baltic Sea.
Right now, SMHI is observing surface accumulations of bacteria from the southeast to the north of the Baltic Sea and up to the Gulf of Finland.
– The spread is not greater than last year, but in principle what can be expected during the week before midsummer, says Jörgen Öberg, oceanographer at SMHI.
The bacteria come in several varieties and have different degrees of toxicity. However, it is difficult to see with the naked eye whether the algal bloom is toxic or not.