Beachgoers were left baffled after finding thousands of jellyfish stranded on popular beaches along the Azov Sea in Crimea.
Officials say the mass die-off is due to a major storm offshore.
Is this a coincidence? Please tell me! While the water in the Don River, the fifth-longest river in Europe as well as in the Taganrog Bay, the northeastern arm of the Sea of Azov, has almost completely disappeared, reaching record low levels, now this jellyfish mass stranding in the Sea of Azov… Cmon! That must have been a hell of a storm!
Последствие шторма: тысячи медуз выбросило на берег Азовского моря https://t.co/3Q3h0TyvI8
— Крым 24 (@crimea24news) November 25, 2019
Жители города Щелкино (Ленинский район) стали свидетелями гибели тысячи медуз на побережье Азовского моря. Об этом сообщают очевидцы в социальных сетях. На фотографиях видно, как прибре… pic.twitter.com/1wjFiPSvfx
This year locals said the Azov Sea was flooded with jellyfish and some of it just washed ashore on Tuesday (Nov. 26).
Officials explain this giant mass stranding by the presence of a powerful storm offshore. Stormy winds and currents just wash jellyfish ashore as they are passive and cannot move to the open sea.
Water receding is also often explained by a huge offshore storm that sucks up the water.
Meanwhile, biologists working at the Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas explain that this year’s jellyfish invasion is caused by environmental factors, such as an early spring and rising salinity levels of the Azov Sea.
Many hope another storm will carry the jellyfish back into the open sea. But I think more and more will strand in the next days.
Jellyfish start dying the moment they hit the beach but can still sting people if handled. So be careful!
