Video footage of water appearing to boil around Lake Toba has gone viral on social media, with the phenomenon reportedly located in Samosir. In a clip shared with detikSumut on Tuesday, August 29, 2025, several murky puddles can be seen erupting with small bursts, resembling boiling water.
Abner Tarigan, head of the UPTD Water Quality Department for Lake Toba at the North Sumatra Environmental and Forestry Agency, dismissed claims from the viral video suggesting that the water in Lake Toba is boiling or that sulfur water has surfaced in the area.
“From my observation, the video doesn’t clearly depict boiling water. This footage, reportedly taken about two weeks ago, shows murky water,” Abner explained to detikSumut on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. He further noted that the water temperature in the Lake Toba area remains normal and shows no signs of rising. “The lake’s temperature is currently around 25-26 degrees Celsius, so it’s not hot,” he added.
