Videos have gone viral on social media showing what appear to be small worms crawling on cars in one part of China.
And according to the American New York Post, residents in Beijing were advised to carry their umbrellas with them if they went out, and the citizens of Liaoning city were asked to seek shelter after it seemed as if it had started to rain worms.
The video clip showed the residents covering themselves with umbrellas while walking in the streets, while the reason for the appearance of these slimy creatures has not yet been revealed.
The video was shared on social media with the phrase "rain of worms", convincing many that worms fell from the sky.
At a time when the Chinese authorities did not provide any explanation for what happened, the scientific periodical "Mother Nature Network" explained the phenomenon that the worms fell after being swept away by strong winds, adding that this type of phenomenon occurs after a storm when the insects are stuck in a vortex.
Some have linked the appearance of worms to the beginning of the spring season, and the first full moon that appears in March is sometimes called the full worm moon because of this phenomenon, according to the British newspaper, Metro.
On the other hand, a number of social media users said that the cars are not covered in worms at all, and that the threadlike bodies are seeds from poplar trees.