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Snow in Bengaluru? Turns out, it's just froth from the city's polluted Bellandur lake. With heavy rains affecting the city, the infamous lake's been frothing more than the ordinary, rising up to cover even the bridge above it, making it hard for vehicles to cross it. (Redditors happily pointed out that the apartment complex next door is called Orchid Lake View, although that's no ordinary 'lake view').

Indeed, Bengaluru's frothy lake is now famous on an interplanetary level: The lake is foaming enough to be visible even on Google Earth:

The polluted lake has had a problem of foaming for some time now, only to become even more serious this year. Sushmita Sengupta, deputy programme director of the water team at the Centre for Science and Environment said in an interview to Scroll.in, "because untreated sewage and effluents flow into the lakes of Bengaluru, the ammonia and phosphate levels go up, and the dissolved oxygen comes down. This leads to froth formation and causes harm to the aquatic ecosystem."

The froth earlier limited to the lake has this year started pouring out onto the road. Following heavy rains, a temporary measure to solve the problem has been reportedly put in place, by way of a "clean water sprayer" that prevents the foam from rising above the lake. Civic authorities are also planning to put a net around the bridge. A long-term solution though may take upto five years according to one report.

The city's lakes have been systematically polluted by everything from detergent factories to sewage. Bellandur lake also has caught fire twice this year, the reasons for which are again unclear. Experts say it was not the water – if any water still remains in that sludge of effluents – that caught fire. They have attributed the flames to the oil and phosphorus on the lake’s surface.

Besides being nausea inducing, the foam also creates a blind spot for motorists and has caused several accidents. Residents from nearby have started playing guide to help people cross the bridge, Bangalore Mirror on Tuesday reported.