video | A rainbow-colored cloud raises controversy, and the Arab weather explains the phenomenon

Weather of Arabia - a visual phenomenon in a cumulus thundercloud that sparked a lot of controversy on social media platforms during the past 48 hours, between those who believe it and another who disbelieves, and there were many analyzes about the causes, and some people linked it to aliens and UFOs! But the truth is that it is just refraction of sunlight!

In the details, a video clip spread on social networking sites showing a thundercloud, the opposite side of which is colored by the sun in the colors of the rainbow, as shown in the attached tweet:

Pileus clouds steal the show anytime they grace the sky pic.twitter.com/TBdShRU3xI

- Vids that will make you love earth (@VidsOfHeaven) July 7, 2023

Why do we see rainbow colors in this cloud?

What happens when this cloud is formed is that there is rapidly rising air in cumulonimbus clouds, and when these air currents meet the cooler air above them, moisture condenses directly along the top of the clouds, forming supercooled water droplets or suspended ice crystals.

The appearance of iridescent colors is actually an optical phenomenon in the atmosphere called cloud iridescence. This occurs when water droplets or ice crystals in a cloud cause sunlight to be refracted and skewed around the outside of the droplets, decomposing them into the colors of the spectrum.