Blood Red Waters in Brazil a Sign of Apocalypse-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
A viral video claims that photos of blood red waters off the shore of Brazil prove that the apocalypse is coming.
The Truth:
It’s true that the waters off the shores of Brazil turn blood red sometimes, but it’s not a sign of the apocalypse.
That rumor started with a video posted at the Christian World News YouTube channel in May 2015. The video, which had nearly 366,000 views, shows images of red waves as a narrator warns that the blood red water is a sign of the coming apocalypse:
“A friend sent me some pictures, and I wanted to get this uploaded as soon as a I could. Check this out you guys, blood red waters in Brazil this time. These pictures were taken around the week of April 27 … This is definitely a sign of the times that we are living in right now. The Lord said in Revelation chapter 16, verse four, ‘And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.’ And that is definitely what we are seeing all around the world.”
Water off the shore of Brazil turns blood red sometimes because of naturally occurring algae blooms there. The Brazilian Journal of Oceanography reports that the blood red water was first noticed in Brazil in 2001:
“Present data indicates that changes in the oceanographic conditions during the passage of a cold front were sufficient to cause the bloom dispersion. In general, the water column stability plays an important role in the red tide formation. (The algae), similar to dinoflagellates, has the ability to swim through the water column and concentrate in the surface waters causing water discoloration. Its behavior has been assumed to consist of an upward phototaxis, followed by downward migration, or dispersal, at night. This ability was clearly shown in the red water described in São Paulo, where data showed that the red water was constrained within a 30 cm thick layer.”
Brazil isn’t the only country that reported blood red waters, either. In 2012, photos were taken of blood red waves at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, the Daily Mail reports:
“Known as Nocturnal Scintillans or sea sparkle it has no toxic effects but people are still advised to avoid swimming in areas with discoloured water because the algae, which can be high in ammonia, can cause skin irritation.”
There have also been reports of rivers turning blood red, too. In 2011, the Jian River in northern China turned blood red because an illegal workshop had dumped red dye into storm water pipes. Since then, other rivers in China have turned blood red due to illegal dumping.
And blood actually caused a river to turn bright red in Myjava, Slovakia, in 2013. People initially said it was a sign of the apocalypse, but then it was discovered that a slaughterhouse’s filtering system had malfunctioned and animal blood had been emptied into the river.