Kyiv: The Chernobyl disaster, the worst nuclear disaster in history, has reportedly had a significant impact on the eastern tree frog population in Ukraine. 26 April 1986 Located near the city of Pripyat A terrible explosion occurred in reactor number 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Ukraine was then part of the Soviet Union.
After the disaster It was discovered that the color of Eastern tree frogs gradually evolved from bright green to black. This is due to the radiation released into the atmosphere as a result of the disaster. The darker the color of the frogs in the vicinity of Chernobyl, where the most radiation was recorded at the time of the disaster. But today’s radiation levels do not affect the color of the frogs in the Chernobyl region.
Frogs in the uninhabited zone within 30 km of the power plant have darker skin than frogs outside the zone. Ionizing radiation from radioactive isotopes released as a result of the explosion can damage the DNA of organisms and lead to genetic mutations.
The dark color of Chernobyl frogs is the result of this evolution.
Chernobyl Two crew members died immediately after the accident and 28 crew members died of acute radiation syndrome within weeks. Tons of radioactive material came out when the reactor’s steel casings collapsed.
This is about 400 times more than what happened when the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is estimated that at least 4,000 people died after the disaster from diseases such as cancer caused by the radiation. However, it is also argued that it is up to 60,000.