The Chongquing section of the Yangtze river in China has turned red. We were first alerted to this by Bill Bishop.

Authorities are investigating the strange occurrence — some are speculating that it's just red silt. Bacteria called Chromatiaceae that thrive in low-oxygen environments are also known to turn massive water bodies red.

新華網很淡定

重慶長江水變紅疑受污染 環保部門稱未監測出有毒物質

9月7日，重慶朝天門兩江（嘉陵江、長江）交匯處，偏紅的長江水與嘉陵江水涇渭分明。當日上午，一組重慶朝天門長江段江水呈現赤紅色的照片引發網絡熱議，6日晚重慶南岸區等地出現大範圍停水，部分網友和重慶市民懷疑江水受到污染。重慶市環保局表示，尚未發現違規排污行為，江水中未監測出有毒物質。在這組照片中，重慶朝天門港口長江段江水呈現赤紅色，與兩岸的高樓、綠化地帶形成鮮明對比，讓人感覺江水水質出現明顯異常。重慶市渝中區環保局和巴南區環保局工作人員在接受媒體採訪時表示，初步推測江水變紅是長江上游汛期導致泥沙量較大所致。　　新華社記者劉潺攝