Forget cats and dogs, it's raining worms outside

Reports of worms raining down in China and fish raining down in Australia have some people fearing the end is nigh.

MARCH 12, 2023 19:39

A man tries to cover his face as he rides his bicycle through cotton-like seeds from Poplar trees, also known as Cottonwood trees, on a Spring day in Beijing April 14, 2008. The more than 300,000 Poplar trees in the Chinese capital are flowering and creating pollen, adding to Beijing's air quality (photo credit: David Gray/Reuters) — A man tries to cover his face as he rides his bicycle through cotton-like seeds from Poplar trees, also known as Cottonwood trees, on a Spring day in Beijing April 14, 2008. The more than 300,000 Poplar trees in the Chinese capital are flowering and creating pollen, adding to Beijing's air quality

(photo credit: David Gray/Reuters)

Residents in the Chinese province of Liaoning, near the North Korean border, were hit with a rain of worms on Sunday.

Chinese Journalist Shen Shiwei claimed on his state-affiliated Twitter that footage of the worms was faked.

I'm in Beijing and this video is fake. Beijing hasn't got rainfall these days.
— Shen Shiwei 沈诗伟 (@shen_shiwei) March 10, 2023

The Chinese media source Sina denied that China experienced raining worms, stressing that the worms were actually poplar flowers and that American hysteria was unnecessary. The report claimed that some people believed the apocalypse was coming as a result of the false reports.

Chinese officials have not confirmed or denied the reports.

In Scotland in 2011 and In Norway in 2015, there were reports of worms raining down, according to the BBC.

A farmer shows army worms that he picked in his maize field in Chikwawa District, Malawi March 19, 2018. Picture taken March 19, 2018. (credit: REUTERS/ELDSON CHAGARA)

Animal rain

While reports of worms raining down are contested, the phenomena of animal rain is not unheard of.

Animal rain or rain of animals, is a rare meteorological phenomenon, according to the Windy.app.

In ancient Egypt and medieval Europe, cases of animal rain were reported. Ancient Egypt reported frogs raining down, according to WAT, which may be the frogs referenced in the biblical story of Exodus.

While the exact reason for animal rain is unknown, the current belief is that "a powerful tornado forms over a waterbody, it can suck in water along with its contents and transport it to relatively high altitudes," according to WAT.

Only a few weeks ago, reports told of live fish raining down in Lajamanu, Australia. Experts say the fish rained down as a result of an extreme storm or tornado. Similar fish storms happened to Lajamanu in 2010, 2004, and 1974.

In Yoro, Honduras, fish rain is an annual phenomenon, according to The New York Times. Many of the locals attribute this to a Catholic missionary from the 1800s who prayed that the hunger in the region would be eased.