Popocatepetl

[(Ghastly) Krueger]

The beauty of living 40km from a 5000m tall, active volcano.

This shot was taken on december 2000.
I was at work like any other day when I looked through a window to see a disc shaped cloud of ash, vapour and gas on the top of the volcano. The disc grew by the minute and it was obvious it would reach us in a couple of hours.
The ash would not be hot by then, but it clogs drains, may colapse roofs if allowed to accumulate, scratches car's paint, forms a hard muck if it mixes with water and just ruins your throat if you are outdoors and breathe it for too long, so we were let out of work early to take our cautions.

And what would I do? Well, go out and take some shots, of course!

I must admit it was a bit scary... the temperature dropped about 15°, the sky went dark and even the birds went early to their nests. There was a strange wind and the ash was everywhere… even inside my mouth!

It was 17:00 when I took this.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

wow, CRAZY! Is it really that bright?

Where is this exactly?

 

[(Ghastly) Krueger]

The bright spot is actually the sun shining through the ash. The volcano is to the right... at the base of the cloud.

This is in Puebla, Mexico.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

Oohhh, I can barely see it, that's why.

 

[W.Smith]

[...] the temperature dropped about 15°, the sky went dark and even the birds went early to their nests. [...]

That's what nuclear winter looks like.