We're used to seeing smoke from wildfires darkening the skies.
But on Feb. 25, 1991, 35 years ago today, a greasy mix of rain and pollutants from Kuwaiti oil fires was observed in three provinces in southern Turkey. The black rain fell for over 10 hours, darkening hands and staining clothes of those caught outside, the Associated Pressreported.
One week earlier, black rain was seen over parts ofwestern Iran.
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Smoke from burning oil fires in Kuwait was first detected in visible satellite imagery on Feb. 8, 1991, and peaked from Feb. 22-24, according to the U.S.Department of Defense. The smoke was pulled northwestward into southern Turkey by an area of low pressure over the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Containing sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and soot, the smoke sometimes spread through the eastern Arabian Peninsula, including Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, leaving a noxious stench and darkened skies.
Just over two weeks after the fighting ended, teams of firefighters arrived and began putting out the fires and capping the oil wells. It would take until Nov. 6 for the final oil well to be capped.
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him onBluesky,X (formerly Twitter)andFacebook.
