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QINGDAO, China : Nature is posing quite a challenge for China in the run-up to the Olympic Games.
Just five weeks away from the Olympics, officials are mobilising thousands of people - including troops - to clean up an algae bloom in Qingdao, host city for the sailing events.
The operation has been going on for a week, but with high summer temperatures hitting Northeast Asia now, the algae is growing almost as fast as they can be removed.
The massive invasion of the bright green algae is hampering the training of athletes, and threatens to stay till the Games.
Ulrike Schuemann, Yngling Ger, German crew, said: "It's really annoying. Every three to five minutes, you have to take the seaweed off the rudder. Maybe it's only (during) June and July. We've had some seaweed in Miami, but not like this. This is something different. It's like a carpet out there."
The problem is not unique to Qingdao. Last year, Wuxi, in the southeastern Jiangxi province, was plagued by a blue algae bloom that polluted the city's main water source.
Chinese experts said the excess nutrients in Wuxi's Taihu Lake were a result of continuous sewage and industrial pollution.
Algae blooms are often caused by factors such as rising temperatures and increased salt levels in the waters.
It is posing a significant challenge for China as it is a reflection of climate change, as well as a possible consequence of environmental pollution.
Algae research is now a hot topic among marine and environmental scientists in China as the country strives to be at the forefront of the green movement.
Qingdao's algae bloom is a regular occurrence this time of the year, but the scale and timing could not have been worst.
Officials have set a deadline of July 15 to clear up the invasion and is resorting to building a 32-kilometre marine fence around the sailing venue. - CNA/ms
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