Chinese citizens were stunned when a stunning and vanishingly uncommon “rainbow scarf cloud” emerged suddenly on the horizon at dusk.
Locals are said to have been perplexed by the bizarre sight of the vividly coloured cloud when it was observed hanging low in the sky.
On August 21, footage of the extraordinary phenomena was taken above the Chinese city of Haikou on the southern island of Hainan.
A video that was uploaded to Twitter showed a black, bulbous cloud with a cyan rainbow crown on top and bright orange, yellow, and green rims.
Over 28 million people have seen and liked the nine-second film since it went viral. Additionally, it got more than 4,000 retweets.
A pileus cloud, sometimes referred to as a “cap cloud” or “scarf cloud,” formed just at the correct time of the evening to generate “cloud iridescence,” or a rainbow cloud, which caused the event.
A cumulus cloud’s rapidly ascending hot air collides with the cold air above it, producing a smooth “scarf” appearance as moisture condenses precisely at the top of the updraft.
When sunlight strikes the scarf portion of the cloud at precisely the correct angle, the ice crystals and water droplets refract the light, producing the amazing rainbow display.
The clouds must be formed of uniformly sized water droplets or ice crystals and must be extremely thin.
Pileus clouds typically have a limited lifetime and are eventually absorbed by the developing cloud below due to convection.
Residents of Haikou were treated to an eye-catching example of a pileius cloud that was hanging low in the sky. Pileus clouds do not usually have vibrant colours like the one in the video.
They may also occur atop mountains, as flammagenitus clouds after volcanic eruptions, or as various kinds of ash clouds, and they are thought to be signs of impending severe weather.
Given that the mainland has been suffering from its worst heatwave and drought since records have been kept in 1961, the picturesque image may potentially be a terrible portent for the island of Hainan.
Recent heat waves and drought in China have led to weeks of temperatures in the 40s Celsius in the west of the nation and the drying out of portions of the Yangtze River.
After the warmth ended at the beginning of the week, Sichuan province’s surrounding districts, including the huge industrial city of Chongqing, have seen days of heavy rain.