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Climate change is rapidly heating up lakes around the world, faster than oceans or the atmosphere. According to a new study, spanning research across six continents, lakes are warming an average of 0.61 degrees Fahrenheit each decade. At the current rate, algal blooms, which ultimately rob water of oxygen, should increase by 20 percent over the next century.
Some 5 percent of the blooms will be toxic to fish and animals. Emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, will increase 4 percent over the next decade. Unaccustomed to the new rules, life forms in a lake can change dramatically and disappear.Image credit: T.Noges
