Yellow rain reported in Udupi; experts yet to ascertain cause

Udupi: Residents at a few places in Beejadi near Koteshwara in Kundapur have said that they saw light yellow rain drops on their clothes and other articles on Wednesday.
The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board in Udupi has taken note of this development.
In 2017, yellow rain was witnessed in Amasebail in Kundapur Taluk.
Professor Arun M Isloor, who teaches chemistry at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) in Surathkal, said that “unless the samples are examined, we cannot conclude the exact cause for the yellow rain”.
The professor listed various reasons for why a place could receive “yellow rain”. It may occur because of fine dust particles that had accumulated in the air because of heavy construction work. It could also be due to the pollen grains of a particular plant. This could happen if a particular species of plant runs into thousands of acres. Fungus concentration could also be one of the reasons, he said.
Another possibility could be chemical industries. When coal with high sulphur content burns, it emits sulphur dioxide and when this meets the moisture in the air it becomes sulphur trioxide that is converted into sulfuric acid. This is also known as acid rain. This can be confirmed only after lab analysis, he said. “As there is no report from the public about skin burning complaints, I don’t think its acid rain,” he added.
Ganesh Puthran, a businessman and social worker, said that around 1 pm on Wednesday, the family of Punadalika Bangera noticed yellow drops on clothes they had put out for drying, as well as on the ground and on leaves. A few other people from the region also reported seeing “yellow rain”, he said.
Uday Gaonkar, a science teacher in a government high school in Siddapur, said that while a scientific study is essential, the yellow-coloured drops could be because of some fungus in the air.
Kerala too had witnessed yellow rain a few years ago.