The active phase of under-ice phytoplankton development has begun in Lake Baikal

Since 2021, an underwater automatic station of Limnological Institute has been operating in Listvyanka settlement. The station is installed at a depth of 4 m and in real time transmits the physicochemical parameters of Lake Baikal to the Center for Digital Environmental Monitoring LIN SB RAS. Since March 21, 2026, there has been a steady increase in the concentration of chlorophyll in the aquatic environment. This is related to the start of the spring phytoplankton complex development. In 2025, this event also began on March 22, but this year, the blooming is happening more intensely. Based on many years of observation, the peak of the spring complex blooming will occur in May. It can be assumed that the year 2026 will be highly productive - fruitful for the Baikal phytoplankton, when its biomass will exceed 1 gram/m³ of water.