Thermal Pollution

Thermal pollution is a form of water pollution characterized by the degradation of water quality due to the rise or fall in the temperature of certain water body and is almost always caused by humans, and is mostly the result of use of water as a coolant in power plants and different industrial facilities.

It can lead to increased levels of chemical pollution because toxicity of many harmful chemicals often increases with the increase in temperature.

Thermal water pollution can cause huge damage to many aquatic ecosystems because there are many fish and other aquatic organisms that have adapted to particular temperature of the water and once this temperature changes they often fail to adapt and die in the process as a result of thermal shock.

The higher water temperatures can also lead to increased bacteria levels and reduced biodiversity of the affected aream causing migration of many fish species.

Thermal water pollutin can also be caused by the release of very cold water from the base of reservoirs and into warmer water bodies such as rivers. Even small temperature changes of one to two degrees Celsius can cause significant changes to many aquatic species and lead to loss in biodiversity.Howver, it can have beneficial effect and may even lead to positive impact on certain aquatic species such as manatee.