An Iranian shore looked like a massive bloodbath after heavy “blood rain” covered the area in red. And hey—just in time for this week’s Blood Moon.
You might be wondering: What even is blood rain—and is this some sort of bad omen?
According to the Met Office, “It’s understood that blood rain occurs when relatively high concentrations of red colored dust or particles get mixed into rain, giving it a red appearance as it falls.”
While it’s not a technical term—and the rain obviously isn’t actually blood—it is a strange phenomenon that’s been noted for years.
‘Blood Rain’ Turned This Beach and Sea Bright Red
“In the case of blood rain, strong winds or storms can whip up dust and sand,” the Met Office explained. “As this becomes airborne it can get caught up in atmospheric circulation, where it can be carried for thousands of miles. Eventually, the dust will either fall out of the sky due to gravity or will be caught up in rain clouds, where it mixes with the water droplets. When these fall as rain, the raindrops could appear red.”
In this particular case in Iran, the blood rain was a result of the high iron oxide content present in the mountain’s volcanic soil mixed with the seawater.
It appears that the soil turns the water red once it hits the ground. Many people online pointed out that the rain itself doesn’t look red, as it isn’t marking any of the tourists’ clothing with red drops.
Still, the scene is like something out of a horror movie.
One man shared the footage on Instagram, which features floodwater rushing off the rocks, turning the water and shoreline bright red.
“Heavy rain today, red beach,” he captioned the video. “Today, the red beach was at its peak with the presence of tourists.”
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