© Aleksandar Pasaric/Pexels
Red drops falling from the sky, coloring roads and buildings with a carmine hue. While this painting spontaneously evokes the horrific cinematic imagination, it nevertheless describes a very real meteorological phenomenon, as fascinating as it is extremely rare. While chronicles of these purple rains were often dismissed as fabrications or dire omens, they are in fact caused by a well-documented phenomenon.
When the Sky Cries Blood: The Red Rains of Kerala
The Malabar Coast in the Indian state of Kerala is an exceptional place to study these famous rains of blood. Over the past century, this region has been the scene of several spectacular episodes of red rains: in July 1957, during the summer and fall of 2001, and then three times in 2012.
These manifestations, of a color close to hemoglobin, initially fueled some strange hypotheses, notably that of the explosion of a meteorite which would have dispersed its fragments into the atmosphere. However, further investigations have concluded that no meteorite was the cause of these rains.
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The key to this enigma lies in a microscopic organism: Trentepohlia, a filamentous green algae whose cells are full of carotenoids, the same pigments that give carrots their beautiful color. This composition can vary its color from green to bright orange.
This algae, which usually covers the bark of trees, is thrown into the air during specific weather episodes. In fact, red precipitation systematically occurs after the passage of a gust front, a phenomenon characterized by a sudden acceleration of sales preceding the formation of storms. When warm, moist air rises in the atmosphere, it creates powerful updrafts, and these can give rise to thunderstorms. During a thunderstorm, cold, dense air descends rapidly toward the ground, creating this famous gust front.
The presence of these organisms in the atmosphere is therefore not accidental, as it results from a precise combination of environmental factors. The strong winds characteristic of storm fronts tear these microorganisms from their natural habitat and propel them into the upper layers of the atmosphere. There, they can be transported over considerable distances before being precipitated to the ground by the rain. This mechanism also explains why these phenomena can occur in regions far from the areas where Trentepohlia naturally proliferates. A rational explanation, which does not however make us lose the intriguing character of these red rains, without any danger to humans.
- Red rains, observed in particular in Kerala, are caused by micro-organisms projected into the atmosphere.
- These algae, rich in carotenoids, give this famous red tint to precipitation.
- Strong winds and storms carry these algae, which then fall back with the rain.
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