Istanbul engulfed in pitch darkness for 5 minutes. Watch as day turns to night

The strange phenomenon in Istanbul occurred possibly because of Mammatus clouds.

Posted Wednesday, the video has received more than 3 lakh views.

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In an extraordinary phenomenon, the city of Istanbul was suddenly engulfed in darkness during the day when a giant black cloud covered the sun for almost five minutes. The Turkish city experienced pitch-black darkness as if it was night.

Also Read | Netizens share stunning images and videos of rare hybrid solar eclipse

Popular Twitter account Tansu Yegen (@TansuYegen) posted a 19-second video, which showed the city being covered in darkness.

Watch the video below:

Yesterday Istanbul was suddenly covered by a giant black cloud up to ten kilometers in size. The Sun was not visible for 5 minutes and the city became dark, as if at night. pic.twitter.com/tr8CDZDbMY

— Tansu Yegen (@TansuYegen) April 19, 2023

Posted Wednesday, the video has received more than 3 lakh views. Many netizens explained the science behind the phenomenon in the comments.

“It seems that was mammatus clouds,” commented a user.

It seems that was mammatus clouds. https://t.co/FhR5A7V1qJ pic.twitter.com/HT1LyLpjtm

— e͎c͎TH͎o͎r͎ (@HArriaga) April 19, 2023

Mammatus clouds are usually seen on the ocean and sea coasts. They may appear as smooth, ragged or lumpy lobes and may be opaque or translucent. Just like their ominous appearance, they are often harbingers of a coming storm or other extreme weather systems.

“Things of Biblical proportions seem to happening everywhere now,” said another user. “Any explanation from the government? Or scientists?” asked another. “Now they know how it feels to live after a meteor hit Earth and the impact covers the planet with dust and smoke blocking the sun,” another user wrote.

Now they know how it feels to live after a meteor hit Earth and the impact covers the planet with dust and smoke blocking the sun.

— Waryasei (@Waryasei) April 20, 2023

everything people claim to be religiously related can be perfectly explained in scientific form

— Mattᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠ (@bopdopp) April 20, 2023

Not even during a full Solar Eclipse, it gets this dark, and eclipses don’t last this long. So whatever this was, something very dense and very large shut out all sunlight for 5 minutes. I am stunned that you can’t even see any fade or difference in light even in the horizon. 🤔

— Akkanålke (@akkanalke1) April 20, 2023

“Not even during a full Solar Eclipse, it gets this dark, and eclipses don’t last this long. So whatever this was, something very dense and very large shut out all sunlight for 5 minutes. I am stunned that you can’t even see any fade or difference in light even in the horizon,” another netizen posted.