Ridma Dissanayake
DailyNews.com
Sat, 17 Nov 2012 11:26 CST
Rare showers of red rain fell for over 15 minutes in Sewanagala, Monaragala and Manampitiya, Polonnaruwa yesterday morning hours of yesterday and day before yesterday. According to Meteorology Department sources red rain fell heavily in these areas and the reason has not been found yet.
Red rain in Sewanagala and Manampitiya left red frost on the ground. This is the first time red rain was witnessed in Sri Lanka. The Health Ministry Secretary informed Medical Research Institute (MRI) Director Dr Anil Samaranayake to conduct a study to ascertain the reasons for red rain by taking water samples from Monaragala and Polonnaruwa.
Increase in the acidity of the air and sand storms are the usual reasons for red rain. However, there are no sand storms in Sri Lanka. India had red rain last year and Indian scientists discovered a variety of micro organisms as a reason for the rains. Since the micro organisms had no DNA, they guessed it had to be a strange phenomenon.
The MRI is carrying out research to find the exact reason for red rain in Sri Lanka.
Comment: Red Rain fell earlier this year in the Kerala area of India and in the
same area in 2001.
Initially it was suggested that the red color came from sand from the Sahara desert, but in 2006 Godfrey Louis, a physicist at Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam, gathered samples and
concluded this was nonsens:
'If you look at these particles under a microscope, you can see they are not dust, they have a clear biological appearance.'
Instead Louis decided that the rain was made up of bacteria-like material that had been swept to Earth from a passing comet. In short, it rained aliens over India during the summer of 2001.
Comment: Red Rain fell earlier this year in the Kerala area of India and in the same area in 2001.
Initially it was suggested that the red color came from sand from the Sahara desert, but in 2006 Godfrey Louis, a physicist at Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam, gathered samples and concluded this was nonsens: Instead Louis decided that the rain was made up of bacteria-like material that had been swept to Earth from a passing comet. In short, it rained aliens over India during the summer of 2001.