Case file · High strangeness
Kerala red rain
Red rain fell across Kerala from July to September 2001; a physicist claimed the red particles were extraterrestrial cells.
2001 CE · 9.93, 76.27 · status: explained
The account
Heavy downpours stained clothes pink in many districts, with yellow, green and black rain also reported. Physicist Godfrey Louis proposed that the particles were alien life brought by a meteor. A study commissioned by the Government of India found they were spores of a local green alga of the genus Trentepohlia.
The sceptical view
The algal spores were identified, grown and matched to lichens near the affected areas; similar coloured rain has fallen in Kerala many times since.