The concept of earthquake clouds carries a mystical aura.
According to legend, during the Ming Dynasty, Italian missionaries Long Huaming and Gao Yizhi compiled ancient Western texts and wrote "The Solution to Earthquakes," presenting it to Tai Zaihengyu. In the eighth chapter, "Signs of Earthquakes," the fifth omen mentioned is the "earthquake cloud": "During the day or after sunset, when the sky is clear, there may appear clouds as thin as a line and very long, which signify an earthquake."
The records from Longde County, Ningxia (35.7 degrees east longitude, 106.1 degrees north latitude) (recompiled in 1935) state: "The weather was clear and warm; the sky was blue and clear. Suddenly, streaks of black clouds appeared in the sky, resembling a long snake crossing the sky. If these clouds lingered, an earthquake would occur."
In ancient Western cultures, earthquakes were often seen as manifestations of divine anger, punishment, or intervention, attributed to supernatural forces. For instance, in Greek and Roman mythology, earthquakes were often associated with the power of main gods such as Zeus, Poseidon (the god of the sea), or other deities. Atlas, a Titan in Greek mythology, was punished by Zeus for rebelling against the Olympian gods and was condemned to support the sky at the edge of the world; it was believed that his trembling could cause earthquakes. In Roman mythology, the god of war, Mars, was also considered relevant to earthquakes because he represented power and upheaval.
Moreover, in many ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia and Egypt, earthquakes were seen as manifestations of divine will, symbols of the displeasure or intervention of gods in human affairs. Deities in these belief systems, such as Marduk in Babylon or Ra in Egypt, were believed to be closely associated with natural disasters, including earthquakes.
Later, as understanding advanced, people gradually abandoned the notion that earthquakes were the work of gods. Some began to believe in a connection between weather and seismic activity, giving rise to the hypothesis of "earthquake weather." As early as the 4th century BCE, Aristotle theorized that earthquakes were triggered by movements of wind in underground caves, leading to the belief that earthquakes were preceded by hot, stagnant weather caused by compressed air underground. Subsequent views also suggested that earthquakes often occurred under calm, cloudy conditions accompanied by strong winds, fireballs, and meteor showers.
Geologist Russell Robinson has pointed out that considering specific weather phenomena as predictors of earthquakes is a common pseudoscientific viewpoint.
Modern seismology research suggests that the fundamental cause of earthquakes is the sudden movement of faults within the Earth's crust. The Earth's tectonic plates continuously move slowly, and when the stress accumulated at the edges of plates exceeds the frictional constraints, it triggers earthquakes, releasing energy in the form of seismic waves that travel through the crust, causing ground shaking.
Earthquakes are the result of the sudden release of energy when stress accumulates within the Earth's interior to a certain degree. Their occurrence is primarily related to crustal tectonic activity, while cloud formation is mainly influenced by atmospheric physical conditions such as temperature, humidity, air pressure, and wind speed and direction.
Although some research attempts to explore the relationship between changes in the atmospheric environment and seismic activity, to date, the scientific community generally agrees that earthquake clouds do not possess reliable predictive value. Therefore, earthquake clouds cannot be considered as a scientific basis for earthquake prediction.
Regarding earthquake clouds, some believe that certain specific cloud formations can predict earthquakes. This notion first appeared in ancient texts, such as the Indian scholar Varahamihira's record in the "Brihat Samhita" of abnormal clouds that may appear a week before an earthquake. In modern times, some individual scientists have claimed that cloud observations can predict earthquakes, but such views have not gained widespread acceptance in the mainstream scientific community.
Psychologist W.J. Humphreys proposed another explanation, suggesting that the so-called "earthquake weather" may be more of a psychological perception rather than a geological reason. That is, under specific adverse weather conditions, people's emotional states may amplify the sensations caused by seismic activity and leave a lasting impression of earthquakes, but this does not imply a direct connection between weather and earthquakes.
Nevertheless, in recent years, some scientific studies have revealed a relative increase in atmospheric temperature 2-5 days before earthquakes. This change may be related to potential connections between crustal ion activity and earthquakes. However, this temperature change has not formed a clear pattern classifiable as "earthquake weather."
In the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in 2011, Shimon Wdowinski pointed out a significant temporal correlation between tropical cyclones and earthquakes.
That same year, a team of seismologists from the Georgia Institute of Technology analyzed data related to the 2011 Virginia earthquake using pattern recognition software and found some correlation between Hurricane Irene's passage and an increase in the number of aftershocks.
However, these findings are not sufficient to establish a reliable and accurate model for earthquake weather prediction. Further scientific research and validation are needed in the field of earthquake prediction.