On July 23, a surveillance camera in the backyard of a resident’s house in Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia captured a “mysterious light ball” and emitted a rumbling sound. After the video was shared online, some netizens claimed that it was a ball lightning.
The viral video shows a white light ball breaking through the night sky, landing in the backyard of a resident’s house, rolling continuously, and disappearing after a few seconds.
According to Mr. Wang, the homeowner, when his family heard strange noises, they rushed outside to check but found nothing unusual. Upon reviewing the surveillance footage, they witnessed a spherical glowing object emitting a rumbling sound.
The glowing object sparked discussions online. According to some netizens, “This should be ball lightning.” “Ball lightning, also known as earthbound lightning, if encountered, you should not run away because as soon as you run, the airflow you generate will cause it to follow you.”
Many netizens have shared their encounters with ball lightning. “This lightning can be loud. Before my daughter was born, it thundered and banged on my windowsill while it was raining and I hadn’t closed the windows.” “I saw it when I was young, floating around the flagpole in the school playground, a spherical light, and then it burst with a bang.”
“I’ve seen it before, with over ten people working on both sides of a room and then thunder, and I saw a fireball shoot (not roll) into the room and bang, leaving only a faint yellow line on the ground.” “It happened in my house too, a thunderstorm brought a fireball in through the window, we were small at the time, my mother hugged us, then it flew out and struck a person in the village.” “When I was young, three spherical lightning balls fell from the sky and split the wall of one family in our village, striking another family.”
Some netizens also mentioned, “Since childhood, my grandmother told me that a red ball hits unfilial children, a green ball hits evil spirits, a white ball hits a destined disaster, and a purple ball is for heavenly punishment.”