The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima by the United States in August 1945 may have exploded about two minutes later than commonly thought, according to data found Tuesday at a former weather station in the city.
An atmospheric pressure graph recorded at the station about 3.6 km south-southwest of the hypocenter shows a bomb blast at 8:18 a.m. on Aug. 6, 1945, contradicting records from the U.S. bomber Enola Gay that the atomic bomb was dropped at 8:15 a.m. and exploded about 43 seconds later.
If the graph is accurate, it would mean that the bomb was dropped at around 8:17 a.m.
"Meteorological data at that time were military secrets, and time was recorded strictly based on Japan Standard Time," Fumitaka Wakabayashi, head of the Hiroshima City Ebayama Museum of Meteorology, told Kyodo News.