Viral: Rainbow cloud in China amazes netizens

A rainbow cloud in the Chinese city of Haikou stunned citizens and netizens. 

Some people compared the phenomena to ‘the Rapture mentioned in the Bible while the actual name of the rainbow cloud is pileus.

Rainbow colored scarf cloud over Haikou city in China pic.twitter.com/ewKmQjsiIE

— Sunlit Rain (@Earthlings10m) August 26, 2022

The clip shot on August 21 is from the Chinese city of Haikou in Hainan province, the clouds looked exceptionally beautiful with something that seemed like a rainbow-coloured crown. Residents of the city and social media users were stunned at the view.

One person said, “This is insane. Like a rainbow and a cloud had a baby…” Another stated, “My whole life would change if I saw this irl.”

Others associated it with rapture in the Bible. “if I had seen this & I was home alone surely I would’ve thought the rapture come & gone & God leave me,” wrote one person.

Another one wrote, “That’s uh… Wow. WOW. This is the sort of thing that spawns religions.”

According to SKYbrary, “Pileus cloud formations are created when the air surrounding a cumuliform tower is rising so quickly that it condenses into a smooth umbrella or hood-like shape once it hits its dew point. As such, they are usually indicators of severe weather, and a pileus found atop a cumulus cloud often foreshadows transformation into a cumulonimbus cloud, as it indicates a strong updraft within the cloud.”

Also Read: Did the Perseverance rover capture a rainbow on Mars?

The rainbow cloud is seen when the sunlight diffracts between the droplets and the ice crystals in the cloud.