Video of rainbow-like cloud in China stuns internet

Despite great progress made by the global scientific fraternity, nature continues to surprise with its beauty and magnificence. Take for instance a rainbow cloud, which was recently spotted in China’s Haikou city on 21 August. A video of which was shared on the internet.

While sharing a small clip of the striking phenomenon, a Twitter user wrote in the caption, “Rainbow colored scarf clouds over Haikou city in China.” The sky shown in the video is surely a sight to behold.

What the residents of Haikou witnessed on 21 August is known as a pileus cloud. The pileus cloud is commonly known as a cap cloud and scarf cloud. As per The Weather Network, this type of cloud is formed when the updraft’s rapidly rising air in a towering cumulus cloud (also called a cumulonimbus) pushes against the cooler air present above it. This scenario results in the condensation of the moisture right along the top of the updraft, causing the formation of the pileus.

The diffraction of light takes place when the sunlight is at the right angle, giving the pileus its colours. It resembles a rainbow, as diffraction takes place between the droplets and ice crystals in the cloud. This type of cloud is usually short-lived.

Several social media users were quick to take to the comments section of the post. One user commented, “Damn China’s sky looks crazy.”

Another was enthralled by nature’s wonder, and wrote, “I wonder if the earth is special or if most planets offer as much of a magnificent view.”

Many sang praises about the beauty of nature.

So far, the video has been played more than 27 million times and has garnered over 16,000 likes.