A huge mushroom-shaped cloud has filled the sky above Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine, causing panic among residents. The city is located just 60 miles from the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster - however, Ukranian officials have told people not to panic.
As you can see in the video above, a giant cloud formed in the sky over Kiltseva Road in the shape of a mushroom, something commonly associated with a nuclear explosion.
Despite reassurance from government officials that nothing sinister had occurred, citizens were nevertheless clearly concerned about what they were seeing.
Some thought it might be the result of secret tests being conducted by neighbouring Russia - one person wrote on social media: "Is it Putin is testing a new nuclear weapon?"
Meanwhile others thought it could be something a bit more, well, otherworldly, with another person pondering: "Is that a UFO?"
As it turns out, the cloud was far less troubling. It was actually the result of a naturally-occurring phenomenon known as an anvil cloud, or - to use the more scientific term - cumulonimbus incus.
This is the term for cumulonimbus clouds which have reached stratospheric stability and formed the characteristic flat, anvil-top shape, and they're usually an indication of an oncoming thunderstorm.
Incredibly, no matter how strong the wind might be, they don't move, but just slowly disappear over time.
That didn't stop the Ukranian State Emergency Service from having a little bit of fun, though. Posting a photo of the cloud on social media, the service asked: "Admit it, who got scared?"
The team in charge of the account did admit the truth, luckily, explaining that what people were seeing was 'known as an anvil cloud so there was no reason for any worries'.
It's no surprise that people might have been concerned by the bizarre sight, with the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 having returned to the public consciousness as a result of HBO/Sky's 2019 TV miniseries.
Chernobyl, a five-part dramatisation revolving around the impact of the disaster and the clean-up attempt that followed, swiftly gathered a huge audience upon its released.
Writer Craig Mazin later said of the show: "The lesson of Chernobyl isn't that modern nuclear power is dangerous. The lesson is that lying, arrogance, and suppression of criticism are dangerous."
Featured Image Credit: CEN
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