Green clouds over Moscow

[lux]

Mysterious green clouds have been spotted over the Russian capital, sparking fears of a chemical disaster and even some doomsday theories.

­But the Emergencies Ministry is advising the public to calm down. It says the clouds are actually composed of birch pollen, not of chemicals from an allegedly burning factory in the Moscow region, as some reported.

Some people, however, got so scared that even the official comments could not convince them. Russian Twitter users have been posting alarming messages like “Moscow schools are closed because of the blast! Children are sent home,” “Sky has turned completely green in Moscow’s south!” and “The factory in Kaluga is destroyed!” A flood of 911 calls was also registered.

Others believe that the authorities are hiding information from the public: “Pollen is just an excuse. It might as well be the beginning of the Apocalypse!” one popular Russian blogger posted to his readers.

The odd natural phenomenon mystically coincided with the 26th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, which caused further speculation about the authorities withholding information.

Biologists say birch trees started blooming yesterday, which would also explain why Muscovites have started sneezing. Birch pollen is a strong allergen, so people suffering from hay fever are strongly advised to take the necessary steps.

“This pollen can stay in the air for quite a long time – around four weeks,” biologist Vladimir Murashov told Ria-Novosti. “The wind can carry it ten kilometers from the tree.”

_http://rt.com/news/green-clouds-moscow-aliens-050

What could be the cause of appeared the green clouds?

[Pashalis]

a video: _http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDLCmZs5dr8

[1984]

Looks like it's posted on SOTT too - http://www.sott.net/articles/show/244638-Green-mysterious-clouds-spark-disaster-fears-in-Moscow

[bngenoh]

It's on sott: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/244638-Green-mysterious-clouds-spark-disaster-fears-in-Moscow

As to the cause the authorities say it is birch pollen. However a comment from an sott reader is pertinent:

If it's just pollen, are there green clouds every year? Are there green clouds in other countries with birch trees?

The timing with Chernobyl is interesting, given Fukushima.

[Serg]

It's on sott: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/244638-Green-mysterious-clouds-spark-disaster-fears-in-Moscow

As to the cause the authorities say it is birch pollen. However a comment from an sott reader is pertinent:

If it's just pollen, are there green clouds every year? Are there green clouds in other countries with birch trees?

The timing with Chernobyl is interesting, given Fukushima.

What the authorities said about birch pollen being the cause reminds member what one of the Ukrainian TV channels said about strange sounds in Kiev. They showed a skating rink and said maybe it was that source of the strange sound Just an amazing statement I think these 2 statements deserve each other.
If they could they would say that the Chernobyl explosion was caused by a geyser. 

[loreta]

I doubt if it is pollen, common! Since when pollen produces clouds of color! A mon avis it can be toxic gas. Or something from the space, or from a nuclear site...

[bngenoh]

What the authorities said about birch pollen being the cause reminds member what one of the Ukrainian TV channels said about strange sounds in Kiev. They showed a skating rink and said maybe it was that source of the strange sound Just an amazing statement I think these 2 statements deserve each other.

If they could they would say that the Chernobyl explosion was caused by geyser. 

Serg, i wouldn't be surprised if that explanation wasn't seriously entertained. 

[Pashalis]

Well I don't know where the idea or believe (?) that you can see nuclear radioactivity as greenish or yellowish actually came from but as far as I know you can't see radioactivity as a color of any kind ??

[Serg]

Well I don't know where the idea or believe (?) that you can see nuclear radioactivity as greenish or yellowish actually came from but as far as I know you can't see radioactivity as a color of any kind ??

Radiation doesn't have any colour (or smell). But maybe it can effect something else that could provoke a colour change? (maybe it may cause any type of change indirectly)

[bngenoh]

Well I don't know where the idea or believe (?) that you can see nuclear radioactivity as greenish or yellowish actually came from but as far as I know you can't see radioactivity as a color of any kind ??

Yeah me too Pashalis, but let's not forget that Russia experienced  huge fires: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/231271-Political-Bread-and-Circuses-for-the-Masses-While-the-World-is-Burning-Russia-s-Summer-of-Fire-Intrigue-Political-Mystery

And:

Wildfires threatened to stir radioactive particles left over from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster back into the air over western Russia, and authorities boosted forest patrols to keep the flames from contaminated areas.

Environmentalists and forest experts warned that the radioactive dust could be harmful, even though doses would likely be small.

"The danger is still there," Vladimir Chuprov of Russian Greenpeace told The Associated Press.

The Emergency Situations Ministry said at least six wildfires were spotted and extinguished this week in the Bryansk region – the part of Russia that suffered the most when the Chernobyl nuclear power plant's reactor No. 4 exploded during a pre-dawn test on April 26, 1986, spewing radioactive clouds over much of western Soviet Union and northern Europe.

Source: _http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/11/russian-wildfires-raise-f_n_678312.html

Seems like a lot would contribute to a different atmosphere around Moscow.

[Data]

Well I don't know where the idea or believe (?) that you can see nuclear radioactivity as greenish or yellowish actually came from but as far as I know you can't see radioactivity as a color of any kind ??

Radiation doesn't have any colour (or smell). But maybe it can effect something else that could provoke a colour change? (maybe it may cause any type of change indirectly)

Well, radiation can have a color: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation Even though I doubt that the greenish color of the clouds had anything to do with it.

[Gawan]

Well I don't know where the idea or believe (?) that you can see nuclear radioactivity as greenish or yellowish actually came from but as far as I know you can't see radioactivity as a color of any kind ??

Yeah me too Pashalis, but let's not forget that Russia experienced  huge fires: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/231271-Political-Bread-and-Circuses-for-the-Masses-While-the-World-is-Burning-Russia-s-Summer-of-Fire-Intrigue-Political-Mystery

This fire happened last year in July/August (2011), so I'm not sure if it still could cause any green clouds.

So far I couldn't find anything of green clouds some years before, so it happens eventually not that often and could be a rare phenomenon, if at all. But this is just the term green clouds.

I could find one blog:

Beware the green clouds
By KEN | Published: APRIL 2, 2006

So a few moments ago the Community Wireless Summit was wrapping up and a bunch of us were hanging out saying our goodbyes. In the course of 5 minutes a beatiful sunny day with people going shirtless turned into a complete grey sky with large green clouds rolling through fast enough to make everyone turn around and look. In the course of 30 seconds a strong gust turned it to screaming winds. Tornado I thought?? Really loud sirens started sounding, we all scattered to the nearset building waiting for someone with a key to the dorm building to let us in.

So now we are sitting in basement of a dorm at Lindewood University listening to the sound doors clacking and recounting what for a lot of us is our first potential tornado. The quickness with which the storm took over a completely sunny normal day was amazing. It was really just long enough to for you to start thinking “Is this a tornado wind?”, by the time the thought crossed your mind your running.

_http://ken.ipl31.net/2006/04/02/beware-the-green-clouds/

I don't know if it is meant literally in this case or not.

And from wiki:

Green Clouds - Green clouds are normally seen when there is a large amount of ice in the clouds. This is an indication of hail and could be a warning that a tornado is likely.

_http://wikitravel.org/en/Tornado_safety#b

Also some newssites report that it isn't an alien invasion.