Residents of Las Vegas in the United States have shared photos of a mushroom-shaped cloud billowing on the horizon on Sunday, even as the tussle between NATO and Russia continues.
The appearance of the mushroom-shaped cloud to many witnesses seemed mysterious, causing some to worry while others just had a nostalgic moment recalling the use of nuclear weapons during past wartimes.
A mushroom cloud is a distinctive mushroom-shaped flammagenitus cloud of debris, smoke and usually condensed water vapour resulting from a large explosion.
Thunderclouds can take a mushroom-like shape when an upward current draws them to a higher altitude but at which there is no strong wind to blow them away.
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The San Diego office of the National Weather Service shared a photo of a similar-looking cloud on Monday, but without the dramatic lighting, as it moved west over California.
The US tested over a thousand nuclear devices at its Nevada Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, over four decades. The infamous mushroom clouds were easily visible and became a tourist attraction for the city.
The 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, had the US and other countries pledge not to conduct most kinds of nuclear tests. The US carried out its last underground nuclear test in September 1992. Four years later, Washington signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which forbids all detonations anywhere, though it has still not ratified the treaty.
When you live in a city 65 miles from a nuclear bomb test site, oddly shaped clouds can be stressful pic.twitter.com/0OQsPN7z6D
— Las Vegas Locally 🌴 (@LasVegasLocally) October 3, 2022
