Haunting visuals of 'blood red' water on a beach in Iran go viral: Prophecy or science?

Iran was drenched by welcome rains last Wednesday (Dec 10) as it battles the driest autumn in over 50 years. On Hormuz Island's Red Beach, the water turned red, giving the illusion of blood-drenched rivers. According to social media posts, the beach and the sea were awash with a bright red colour. Videos and photos of the red water were splashed across social media, although it couldn't be verified whether they were linked to the December 16 rains or if they were from March this year, when similar scenes were witnessed in Hormuz. It is possible that the posts are sharing older images and videos of the "red rain" from the previous event. Irrespective of that, the red water has generated a lot of curiosity among netizens as Iran, battling drought, saw rainfall after a long time. Some of them linked it to a biblical prophecy, which describes the world ending and the sea, rivers, and springs turning to blood.

Biblical prophecy of blood rivers?

A user wrote on X, "Blood in water is an apocalypse sign primarily comes from the biblical Book of Revelation (chapters 8, 16), describing angels pouring bowls/vials that turn sea, rivers, and springs to blood as divine judgment during the end times," as another one asked, "It looks biblical. Is this common?" One user pointed out how a similar scene years ago would have been immediately linked to a higher power. “Damn I bet if this happened in classical Egypt, it could totally start a new cult or some kind of religion. Good thing people today are smart enough to know the science and ignore the superstitions.”

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Iron oxide changes the colour of the soil

Basically, there is science behind the vivid red colour of the Red Beach in Hormuz. The soil and rocks here contain high amounts of iron oxide, which leads to the red colour when rain falls. Iron oxide can also turn the soil yellow and brown, but the red here comes from the mineral hematite. Old visuals of red water pouring down cliffs have gone viral on social media, with some comparing it to the end-of-times biblical prophecy. However, the scientific explanation for this occurrence is pretty clear.