Black Smoke Ring over Pakistan Provokes Widespread Speculation

A still image from the video posted to Twitter by Blue on Blue. (@razzblues / Twitter)

A large, black smoke ring posted to Twitter on January 21st has led to widespread speculation regarding its origin, including the inevitable introduction of UFOs into the discussion.

The video was shared by Twitter user Blue on Blue, accompanied by the caption “They are here. #Lahore #Aliens.”

They are here. #Lahore #Aliens pic.twitter.com/OfWPG20Il9
— Blue on Blue (@razzblues) January 21, 2020

Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab, and the city over which the ring appeared.

A second video was posted shortly after the first, with the caption “I think they are here to take back Gulbukhari now that her shrink has given up.”

I think they are here to take back Gulbukhari now that her shrink has given up. pic.twitter.com/WXjoVyeWeP
— Blue on Blue (@razzblues) January 21, 2020

Gul Bukhari, mentioned in the caption, is a a liberal British Pakistani journalist and columnist, known for her criticism of the Pakistan Army.

One commenter posted their own video to the thread, which they said was recorded over Dubai.

I noticed a similar thing some weeks ago in Dubai pic.twitter.com/qGl6xhgMtk
— Tariq Irfan (@Tariq_Irfan) January 21, 2020

Further comments responding to the video included a roughly equal mix of ufological speculation—much of which seemed tongue-in-cheek—and skeptical dismissal, although other commenters were concerned that the rings could represent some form of weapons testing.

Large, black, aerial smoke rings have been appearing worldwide for years, but there’s nothing necessarily paranormal about them, despite their unusual appearance.

Following a similar incident in 2017, former British Ministry of Defence UFO investigator Nick Pope said that "despite exotic theories about UFOs, aliens, or portals to other dimensions, I believe there's a decidedly down-to-earth explanation [for large, black, aerial smoke rings]. A so-called smoke vortex can arise when you have a blast through a circular structure like a smokestack."

"So these weird effects can be caused by accident—or indeed by design," he added. "On this latter point, they can be created as a sort of pyrotechnic effect."

A smoke ring hovering over the M62 in West Yorkshire, England, in 2017. (SWNS) — A smoke ring hovering over the M62 in West Yorkshire, England, in 2017. *(SWNS)*

The smoke rings have been reported over events such as a military reenactment in England (pictured above), and the music festival Bonnaroo in Tennessee, USA (see the video below). The weird rings appear suddenly and tend to linger in the sky, and can be quite baffling to onlookers who are unaware of their cause.

The source of the black smoke ring over Lahore, and whether it was deliberate or the result of an accident—such as a transformer explosion—remains unknown.

To report your own encounter with the impossible, reach out to us directly at the Singular Fortean Society through our contact page.

If you enjoyed this article and would like to support the Singular Fortean Society, please consider becoming an official member by signing up through our Patreon page—membership includes a ton of extra content and behind-the-scenes access to the Society’s inner workings.