Cameras across the United Kingdom were raised to the sky as a bewildering haze of orange engulfed the sky on Monday afternoon.
Hurricane Ophelia hit Ireland early Monday morning, accompanied by fierce 70 mile-per-hour winds and widespread panic. But as the storm continued to batter Ireland, the UK and parts of Northern France witnessed a much more peculiar weather pattern as the sky seemed to descend into a pale orange from midday well into the afternoon.
But while schoolchildren and teachers alike were left scratching their heads, the phenomenon did have an explanation.
As warm southerly winds blew up from and the Sahara Desert, merged with the spiralling winds of the hurricane targeting Ireland, a dusty cloud of sand blew up towards the UK and Northern France, obscuring the usual blue light we see when we look up and causing the peachy hue. The current forest fires across Spain and Portugal also contributed to the strange colouring seen by so many on Monday.
Although many were content to simply sit by and watch as the sky turned this unusual colour, many speculated a more concerning cause to the sky’s colour: the apocalypse. 'The apocolypse is coming!' said Antonia Dunning. Social media’s response also encouraged the mayhem broadcast across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as the afternoon went on!
So, while Monday’s sky was surprising and, for some, alarming, it has had no permanent effects and was back to normal come Tuesday morning. However, the spectacle was an exciting contrast to the regular Monday blues, and produced some great pictures as avid photographers took to their cameras.
Eleanor Fisher Newstead Wood School
