Nature Notes

by Brin Best

Wharfedale Naturalists' Society

THE sulphur glow in our back garden was the first indication that something strange was happening in the atmosphere. The yellow-tinted sky brought unusual colours and shades to what had been familiar plants the day before. It was as if we were viewing the world through lemon lenses, and the effect was quite bizarre.

I headed outside for a closer look and was surprised to see a pale pink sun in the sky above my head, as if a sunset was taking place in the middle of the day. I watched over a 30-minute period as the solar hue changed from pink to an intense orange-red. Strange, magical, unexpected.

The reason behind this unusual atmospheric phenomenon had roots on two continents and an ocean. Fine sand from the north African deserts had combined with charred particles from the recent Iberian forest fires, and a blanket of particulates had been blown north to the UK by the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia, which was born in the Atlantic Ocean.

These fine particles filtered the sun's rays as they penetrated the atmosphere, creating other-worldly colours and giving rise to the yellow sky and oddly coloured sun, which was causing so many people to look up. The whole scene resembled the images captured by the Mars Rover of the skyscape on the red planet, and it was a deeply affecting.

As Ireland was being battered by Ophelia's winds, much of the UK was being transformed by her dusty breath into a scene that was eerie and beautiful in equal measure. Millions of people across the country noticed and photographed the phenomenon, it was the subject of countless social media posts and made headline news the next day.

The rare atmospheric event underlines people's interest in the weather and the natural world, and especially freak events which – for a few hours – can change our world.

I saw Mars change back to Earth last Monday afternoon when the upper winds suddenly picked up, blowing the dusty filter away, revealing a brilliant blue sky and allowing our star to shine so brightly that I couldn't look at it.

Although Ophelia had brought a curious beauty to Yorkshire, the sky's return to normal brought with it a sense of relief. Because without the blinding sun, and the blue skies which frame it on clear days, complex life on the surface of our little planet would simply not be possible.