Lake Balaton may dry up by 2050, but by 2035 Lake Balaton may become unsuitable for bathing, said Victor Toth, senior researcher at the Balaton Institute of Limnological Research in an interview with Sunline.
This is a very bad scenario. It is difficult to predict the direction of change, so we do not know what will happen
– said the expert, who considered that the possibility of replenishing the lake water from the Raba River in a few decades, the development of which could begin now, should not be excluded.
Toth also spoke about the fact that the water authorities did not accept the concerns of the scientists of the Research Institute of Freshwater Sciences and decided to raise the water level by ten centimeters. The changing water level has biological and environmental benefits, but the waters of Lake Balaton remain very high and very stable due to tourism and economic interests. The water level rise due to the lack of oxygen layer over the sediments with the proliferation of algae and It is associated with a decrease in reed.
Aging, which also occurs in reeds, is a part of life, so old decaying reeds are an integral part of everyday life and play an important role in the functioning of the ecosystem. Some organisms specifically need this habitat. The dwarf mouse can build a nest only from flexible and old reeds, and fish sometimes need a quiet place without waves to breed. If the water cycle is normal, the reeds will renew themselves
— pointed out Toth, who said the algal bloom in 2019 was a serious warning that could put modernizing the lake’s monitoring system on the agenda.
