yellow rain

noun

small, powdery yellow deposits containing the fungal toxin tricothecene, found on leaves and other surfaces in Southeast Asia and Afghanistan in the early 1980s and alleged by some to be a chemical weapon disseminated by air but claimed by others to be pollen-containing bee excrement contaminated by fungus.

yellow rain

a type of yellow precipitation described in parts of SE Asia and alleged by some to be evidence of chemical warfare using mycotoxins

First recorded in 1975–80

An abundance of pollen in the air accounts for the occasional fall of yellow rain, described as sulphur rain, golden showers, etc.

A cherry-tree beside the house was fast losing its leaves in a yellow rain.

He shook his dripping hat, and hung up the stiff yellow rain-coat that he called a 'slicker.'

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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