Main image via News18 + MSN
We in Malaysia have been experiencing a range of weather over the past few days. From scorching heat to thunderstorms to even hailstorms, it’s been a wild time.
While we may be experiencing a variety of weather, Argentina has had to deal with tornados, but, not just your average tornado.
Mosquito tornados.
via GIPHY
You read that right. Mosquito tornados.
We all know how annoying mosquitoes can be but imagine millions of them together making a giant, swirling mass and coming your way. That’s what the people of Buenos Aires, Argentina had to face.
Recently, videos of the horror-movie-inducing scene made its way around the internet.
A driver who was on Route 74, which connects the Partido of General Madariaga to the coastal city of Pinamar in the Argentine province of Buenos Aires, caught the “tornado” from a distance on video.
The tornado turned out to be a huge cloud of mosquitoes that formed a dark tower into the sky.
Image via MSN
According to experts, the unusual phenomenon occurred after the Buenos Aires region experienced heavy rainfall.
“Heavy rains caused flooding resulting in large pools of stagnant water where female mosquitoes lay their eggs,” Juan Jose Garcia, a researcher at the Centre for Parasitological and Vector Studies explained.
He added that this situation often results in the birth of “huge numbers” of insects that “invade cities”, and in this case resulting in the huge mosquito tornado that seemingly reached hundreds of feet into the air.
As the video gets closer to the swarm, the person behind the camera can be heard saying that it was “getting bigger and bigger”, adding “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
A “tornado” filled with millions of mosquitoes is definitely horrifying – and many netizens agree; but Juan assured that the insects are not a threat to humans. They do however have the potential to interfere with farming activities.
Due to the insects’ short life cycle, the researcher recommended that no action by taken to “deal” with the swarm. He advised residents to stay home for 15 days, after which the mosquitoes will begin to die off.
Image via News18
However, some locals have asked the authorities to fumigate the insects in a bid to get rid of them, but the Directorate of Zoonosis of the municipality of Pinamar explained that fumigation will only kill a tiny fraction of the mosquito population in the area and would be ineffective.
“Fumigation brings with it the risk of introducing toxic chemicals into the food chain which will have knock-on effect towards the insect’s natural predators,” a spokesperson for the organization said.
The municipality “reserves fumigation for extreme cases where there is a real threat to the general public health.”
Residents have also been advised to use insect repellent, ensure their windows have mosquito nets and to cover or get rid of stagnant water.
via GIPHY
With the amount of mosquitoes we already have here in Malaysia, we can’t imagine what it’d be like to face a “mosquito tornado”!
What would you do if you came across this horrifying scene? Let us know!
Info via UNILAD
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