In Odesa, an oil slick in the sea stretches for thousands of kilometers

The area of pollution in the northwestern part of the Black Sea has grown rapidly overnight, from tens to hundreds of square kilometers. Satellite images showed that the slick has expanded dramatically and moved towards the coast of Odesa, covering more and more water.

Environmentalist Vladislav Balinsky reported a rapid increase in the area of pollution in the northwestern part of the Black Sea - overnight it grew from tens to hundreds of square kilometers.

According to him, while the day before it was about 40 km², as of April 28, satellite images show about 793 km² of oil slick. This is the data from Copernicus Sentinel-2 images, which showed that overnight the pollution spread to the north and northeast, towards Ochakiv and the Dnipro-Bug estuary.

Earlier, on the Sentinel-1 radar image, the slick was still pressed against the coast between Chornomorsk and Odesa, with a length of about 35.7 km. However, after the weather conditions changed, the situation deteriorated sharply.

The reason for the rapid spread was a strong southwesterly wind that reached 5-6 m/s with gusts of up to 10-12 m/s. This direction contributed to the transfer of surface water masses to the north and northeast, which led to the stretching of the stain.

The ecologist emphasized that the actual scale of the pollution could be even greater, as part of the water area towards the estuary is currently covered by clouds.

Signs of pollution have already been detected in Odesa. In particular, in the area of the 411th battery, a characteristic greenish-yellow color of water near the shore is observed.

Balinsky urged residents to report any spots or affected birds, recording the coordinates and time.

At the same time, he criticized the readiness of the relevant services to respond to such incidents, noting that prompt installation of booms and localization of pollution at early stages could significantly reduce the scale of environmental damage.

A day earlier, Vladyslav Balinsky noted that this is the third such oil leak into the Black Sea, and seafarers are likely to be the next to be fatally affected.

Анна Бальчінос