Creamy Pink Snow Covers Russian Region

http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/03/13/pinksnow.shtml

MosNews

Creamy pink snow has covered the northern regions of Russia’s Maritime territory, news agencies reported Monday.

For some reason, the snow that fell in the densely populated northern regions after a powerful cyclone had acquired a pink color of varying tints.

Experts at the local meteorology centre said sand from neighboring Mongolia was to blame for this unusual natural phenomenon.
Before it arrived in Maritime, the cyclone passed Mongolia, where sand storms had been raging in the desert.

“The winds of the cyclone embraced dust particles that colored the fallouts,” the experts said.

February’s yellow snowfall with a strong odor and an oily texture was observed on Russia’s Far East island of Sakhalin. The color, odor and texture of the snow may have been a result of environmental pollution caused by the island’s oil and natural gas industry.

However, experts do not rule out this could be caused by volcanic activity.