A video clip of flames emerging from the ground in one of the villages in the New Valley Governorate in southwestern Egypt raised many questions about the mysterious phenomenon that terrified the local population, and prompted them to ask about the reason behind this.
The circulating video clip shows blue and red fires emerging from the ground, while residents of the Egyptian governorate expressed concern that the phenomenon was a prelude to the eruption of a volcano that was dormant.
The cause of the strange phenomenon
Immediately the local authorities rushed to send a scientific mission to the area that witnessed the phenomenon to reveal its secrets and study its causes, revealing that the cause was the presence of high-temperature gas emissions from the lower layers rich in flammable organic materials, which interact with the groundwater that contains the element sulfur. They exit through breaks in layers of soil in the form of fumes loaded with sulfur and oxides, according to Egyptian media.
In a press release, the governor of the region, Muhammad Al-Zomlout, assured the local population that the phenomenon is not dangerous and should cause no concern, pointing out that there is no evidence of volcanic flows in the area, and that ignition occurs near the surface of the earth.
On the other hand, Muhammad Tharwat Heikal, Professor of Geology at Tanta University, attributed the reason for this phenomenon to what is known as the “hot springs” phenomenon, which occurs as a result of the water cycle in the ground, which when being weak, hot waters are released on the surface of the earth, and the cause of fires is because the rocks associated with these hot bituminous waters contain flammable materials.
The professor of geology pointed out that this phenomenon is ancient for thousands of years, and it occurs in many regions and countries of the world, including India, Turkey, Egypt, and China.