Darker than 50 shades of grey? 'Black rain' in China dyes everything charcoal

When a light drizzle happened on Monday (Nov 14), Residents of a community in Hangzhou, China were shocked to find everything exposed to the rain turn a shade darker. 

The incident left even the most hardened citizens afraid that the rain may contain harmful chemicals, despite many of them being in contact with harmful levels of pollution in their daily lives. 

Upon investigations, the black rain was found to be caused by an accident at a nearby abandoned factory, reports Shanghaiist.

Apparently, while demolishing the factory, workers accidentally ruptured a tank of pure petroleum powder and released the powder into the atmosphere, resulting in the formation of a black rain.

The local environment protection bureau has spoken up about the event, asking residents not to worry as the powder is harmless.