Red rain in Kerala
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Red rain in Kerala was a phenomenon observed over several weeks, beginning in July 2001, in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Heavy downpours occurred in which the rain was bright red, staining clothes and burning leaves on trees.
A convincing explanation for the phenomenon has yet to be found. Initially it was suspected that, like many instances of coloured rain, dust transported from elsewhere was responsible; but the distribution of the red rain was patchy whereas a dust layer would be expected to give rise to evenly distributed coloured rainfall. Scientists at the Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam have proposed a far more outlandish theory — that the dust is in fact composed of organic matter of extraterrestrial origin. If this were to be proven, it would be the first direct evidence in favour of the theory of panspermia, which posits that life on Earth arrived here from outer space.
The red rain in Kerala first fell on 25 July 2001, in the districts of Kottayam and Idukki in the southern part of the state. As well as red rain, some reports suggested that other colours of rain were also seen [1]. Many more occurrences of the red rain were reported over the following 10 days, and with diminishing frequency until the end of September.
The coloration of the rain was due to red particles in suspension in the rain water. When it fell, the red rain was at times as strongly coloured as blood. It typically fell over small areas, no more than a few square kilometres in size, and was sometimes so localised that normal rain could be falling just a few metres away from red rain. Red rainfalls typically lasted less than 20 minutes [2].
