Srinagar, Mar 09 (KNO): Terming viral social media claims as misleading, independent weatherman Faizan Arif on Monday said there is no risk of “black snow” or toxic acidic rainfall in Kashmir due to the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
Arif while talking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said, “Posts circulating on social media suggesting that the conflict in the Middle East could trigger black snow or toxic rain in Kashmir are not supported by current atmospheric conditions.”
He said such phenomena usually occur only during large-scale environmental disasters involving prolonged burning of oil wells or refineries that release massive amounts of soot, sulphur dioxide and other pollutants into the atmosphere.
Arif cited the example of the Gulf War oil fires, when hundreds of oil wells were set ablaze, producing large quantities of smoke and pollutants that travelled long distances and affected regional weather patterns.
“At present, there is no large-scale war scenario or widespread destruction of major oil infrastructure in the Middle East that could generate emissions on such a scale,” he said.
According to him, most incidents reported so far in the region involve localized military strikes or short-duration fires, many of which were controlled within hours.
Such emissions, he said, generally disperse and dilute in the atmosphere and are unlikely to travel thousands of kilometres in concentrations capable of affecting precipitation.
Arif said Kashmir lies roughly 1,800 to 4,000 kilometres away from major Middle Eastern conflict zones, and pollutants from relatively small fires would significantly dilute before reaching the region.
“For black snow or chemically significant acid rain to occur, there must be extremely large and sustained emissions of particulate matter and sulphur compounds along with specific atmospheric circulation patterns that transport those pollutants towards the region,” he said.
Under the current circumstances, he added, the likelihood of black snow or toxic acidic rainfall in Kashmir due to the present Middle East conflict remains extremely low—(KNO)