In November 2023, the news dispersed on the Internet that the water in the Nile became red. We decided to check if this is true.

Video of a stormy red river became the most popular in Tiktok. There videos Millions are gaining signatures in Russian, English and other languages Views and hundreds of thousands Likes. Many users See This is the prophecy about the end of the world and recall Verse 16: 3 From the revelation of the Apostle John: "The second angel poured his bowl into the sea - and blood became, as if a dead man, and everything animated died in the sea." Other They thinkthat this is a sign of the speedy phenomenon of Mahdi, the successor of the Prophet Muhammad in Islam, whose parish portends the end of the world. Sometimes to videos with a red pond Add And satellite pictures-the Nile also looks blood-red. The video of the red river and on other platforms, such as YouTube, "VKontakte" And Instagram*.

In social networks and on video content platforms, the same video is diverged with a length of about 20 seconds, where nothing indicates that the action takes place in Egypt and on the frames - a Nile. Despite the fact that this is a remarkable phenomenon, none of the inhabitants of Egypt or tourists laid out other videos or pictures. Moreover, for the same period of time in Instagram many photo And videoWhere the water in the main river of Egypt is a completely ordinary color. It was not possible to “verify” information about the reddened Nile and in authoritative media.

Changing the color of water in reservoirs or even fountains is a very real, scientifically explained phenomenon, which, however, invariably provokes conversations about the end of the world. So, in 2014 in one of the villages in the northwest Spain The water in the fountains suddenly stained red than scared the inhabitants. It turned out that with the rain, which passed the day before, microscopic algae of a red shade fell into the water. And in Chile there is a lake under the name at all Laguna Rokha (Translated from Spanish-“Red Lagoon”), whose waters are always painted in blood red, and, according to some data, the reason for this Colors Also in algae. By the way, if you look carefully video From the shores of the Lake Chilean, it can be noted that the landscape of the shores surrounding it is very similar to the vicinity of a red pond on a dispersed video - the same terrain and soil color. “Verified” could not find the source of the viral video allegedly from the coast of the Nile, but we can assume: the one who was the first to publish a video indicating that the matter was happening in Egypt, or he was mistaken, or intentionally decided to “fit” the video under the prophecy about the Apocalypse.

Source: Video screenshots, on the left - Tiktok Hotnewsk, right - YouTube Aventura South America

As for the picture from the satellite, which allegedly shows that the water throughout the Nile turned red, then by searching for the images of Google it was possible to find out: the photo was by no means new - it was made Back in 2016, a satellite of the European Space Agency Sentinel-3a. Then the agency itself, who shared the picture on its Facebook*page, ExplainedWhy the Nile is red: this is what the vegetation looks visible in the infrared range of the satellite radio meter. Then, however, some impressionable users also They remembered About biblical prophecies.

Source: Facebook ESA - European Space Agency

Thus, there is no evidence that the water in the Nile River in November 2023 somehow changed its color. The only 20-second video that was scattered on the Internet, apparently, was shot not Egypt, but in Chile, on the banks of Laguna-Roch Lakes, the color of the water in which is bright scarlet due to micro-cone. Satellite pictures, in which the Nile is also painted red, distort real shades - this is how the vegetation of the river looks in the infrared range of the radiometer.

*Russian authorities They think Meta Platforms Inc., which owns social networks Facebook and Instagram, an extremist organization, its activities in Russia are prohibited.

Photo on the cover: Tiktok screenshot Hotnewsk