RED MUD SHOWERS

Taranaki Daily News, 29 January 1931, Page 7

RED MUD SHOWERS

BLOWN FROM SAHARA. EXPERIENCE IN PARIS. Reddish-grey sand, believed to have been swirled up into the air from the Sahara Desert and carried about 1500 miles to France, was deposited in the form of a rain of mud when it met a rain-cloud over Paris a few weeks ago. About 5 a.m., when the streetsweepers were watering the boulevards, the rain-cloud burst, sending down, streams of’ liquid mud. Motor-cars outside night cabarets were splashed all over and in many places half an inch of reddish mud was deposited in the street. Shop windows presented a hopeless aspect to the cleaners. The mud was adherent and difficulty was experienced in getting rid of it. At Barcelona the same morning plants, drying clothes and windows were covered with fine red sand. At infrequent intervals various parts of Europe have experienced “rod rain,” or, rather, red mud rain. Such mild storms have their origin in the tropical deserts of North Africa. Enormous quantities of desert dust are whirled up by wind storms and transported, often' for thousands of miles, in the upper air. On February 21 and 22, 1903, a, deluge of “red rain” was experienced in England, during which, it was computed, 10.000,060 tons of dust from North Africa were deposited. Soot particles have also been carried great distances, finally falling as black rain. Insects, small fish, . small frogs, shells aqd many other strange things, have also fallen as “rain” in various parts of the world. About three years ago large quantities of salt, drawn up bv the winds over the Atlantic, were deposited during a gale in the Midlands of England.