UK set to be hit with 'blood rain', scientists warn
There are three guarantees in life: death, taxes, and wet British weather. But what if those latter downpours came straight out of a horror movie?
According to Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) experts, the UK landscape is about to be pelted with so-called 'blood rain'.
Caused by red Saharan dust that's currently making its way across Europe, the regular precipitation over here will mix together with this desert interloper to create the phenomenon.
But despite its disturbing appearance, there's apparently no reason for public concern. At worst, this reddish rain will leave a thin film of dust on exposed surfaces.
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CAMS senior scientist, Mark Parrington, had this to say on the matter (per The Daily Mail): "Our latest forecast indicates that it will mostly pass over southern England and the Channel at higher altitudes in the atmosphere but may result in some wet deposition at ground level if it mixes with weather forecasts also showing some rain."
The service is reportedly tracking the dust as it travels over the North Atlantic; the plume itself also consisting of smoke from burning biomass in Africa.
Once the dust is whipped by the wind from terra firma into the air, the subsequent clouds reach some serious altitudes before being transported worldwide.
"Large–scale outflow of aerosols to the North Atlantic is not uncommon at this time of year, with seasonal biomass burning in Equatorial Africa typically reaching its peak between January and March, and Calima winds transporting Saharan dust over the ocean," Parrington elaborated.
"The high intensity of this particular episode is notable as our forecasts show a plume reaching northwestern parts of Europe."
The CAMS expects this vampiric element to take over Britain sometime today (February 24).
"It looks likely to pass over in a couple of hours on Tuesday afternoon. Our latest forecast runs to the end of Tuesday but there is some indication there may be more crossing southern England on Wednesday," the scientist revealed.
"An aerosol optical depth value of 1 typically means hazy skies, and the values in the plume are relatively high. So it could cause more reddish/orange skies during Tuesday evening."
How very apocalyptic.
Dan Seddon