Another Chernobyl? Mysterious Mushroom Cloud Spreads Fear of Nuclear Explosion in Russia

A massive mushroom cloud made Russians for their safety. Is it a nuclear explosion or a natural occurrence?

According to reports, most people who saw it suspected that a deadly nuclear explosion has occurred and that doomsday is once again ahead of them. Others thought a coal mine in nearby Kuzbass region has exploded.

Some residents of the city of Kemerovo in Russia's western Siberia were able to capture the terrifying clouds billowing over them. Mirror reported that the residents, upon seeing it, immediately contacted emergency services.

Why Nuclear Explosion Have Mushroom Clouds

Atomic Archives explains that the mushroom cloud is one of the effects of nuclear explosion. As the site explodes, it produces vapors that form a cloud that contains water from the air and solid particles of the weapon debris. The cloud starts as red but ends as with a white hue as condensation occurs.

Popular Mechanics says it forms the shape of a mushroom because of the so-called Rayleigh-Taylor instability, which the report describes as the interaction between two materials (fluids or gasses) of different densities when they are forced together.

In layman's terms, the gas which is less dense and hotter accelerates faster and forms the mushroom cap while the remaining gas form the stalk of the mushroom cloud.

An Anvil Cumulonimbus Thunderstorm

Russian state-run Sputnik News reported that no nuclear explosion has occurred. Rather, it was an anvil cumulonimbus thunderstorm.

Accuweather defines anvil clouds as the flat top of cumulonimbus clouds, which are associated with well-developed thunderstorms.

Emergency services and officials quickly assured the terrified locals that the formation was a normal weather occurrence. Local media were also quick to shut down the speculations.

"There are no reports of fires or explosions recorded in the area, and the 'mushroom' hanging over the city is a regular rain cloud," Life television reported.