Spires of buzzing mosquitoes were spotted along the Pune skyline this month — akin to numerous narrow funnel tornadoes. Videos of the incident have since gone viral with one clip identifying the location of Keshavnagar and Kharadi. Horrified netizens have since called for flamethrowers, compared the horrifying phenomenon to dementors (à la the Harry Potter novels) and cracked many a joke about the ‘buzzing nightlife’ in Pune.
Rare Urban Appearance
While such mosquito ‘tornadoes’ are not a new sight in Maharashtra, it is rare to see them swirling over the Mutha river in an urban setting such as Pune. Recent weather conditions have reportedly created a favourable breeding ground for the insects.
Social Media Reactions
“Bless all the people with ‘river view’ homes. Time to weld the windows shut,” wrote one Instagram user.
“Please launch mosquito view projects now instead of riverfront views,” joked another.
Some on the social media platform dubbed it “Aurora Mosquitolis” while others offered conspiracy theories to underscore the seriousness of the matter.
Health Concerns
“These may be genetically modified mosquitoes dropped, just like the ones dropped by Bill Gates in Florida. It’s not a good news…” read one comment.
Many also envisioned themselves as superheroes wielding an electric racket or “holding Laal hit in both hands wearing Ironman suit” as the Avengers background score rang out.
“The itch to swing the electric racket here is too much,” laughed one user.
“Bhai mosquito racket leke upar se khud jaate hai… Diwali ban jayegi…” visualised another. Concerns have also been raised about the health implications of the massive mosquito congregation.