If you needed one more reason to visit the beaches in Chennai, here it is - glowing waves caused by 'sea sparkles'.
In the past 24 hours, Twitter has exploded with pictures of sparkling waves on ECR beaches. Visitors to Thiruvanmiyur, Elliots and Injambakkam beach witnessed bioluminescence in the water caused by the presence of the Noctiluca scintillans algae.
Those who have watched the Malayalam film, 'Kumbalangi Nights' would have recognised the sparkling waters.
The glow is attributed to the algae's biological characteristic of lighting up whenever they are disturbed.
Some sea creatures produce bioluminescence as a defence mechanism, to attract prey or even to lure mates.
The presence of these sparkling organisms could have been caused by the effect of man-made activities on the sea - like the discharge of sewage into the ocean or due to excessive rains, according to an Indian Express report.
But multiple reports suggest that their occurrence might be an indicator of climate change.
Researchers from the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services cite global warming as the reason for its increasing presence in beaches on the west coast, a 2018 Hindu article reports.
As the sea sparkles feed on diatoms that are at the base of the marine food chain, their arrival may also spell bad news for local aquatic species.
For now, experts say that further studies need to be conducted to know more about their surprise visit.