"But officials in Qingdao said pollution and poor water quality did not have a "substantial link" to the current outbreak, according to Xinhua. Instead, scientists blamed the bloom on increased rainfall and warmer waters in the Yellow Sea."
Yes without the poor water quality in the first place, warmer water and rain (highly sulphiric no doubt) really would not just spawn this much algae IMO, you need both conditions to create this big of a mess. Way to duck the blame on that one Xinhua.