Before the arrival of Typhoon Hagibis, netizens captured in photos the strange purple color that dominated the sky.

A few days after its passage, Typhoon Hagibis was considered by the WMO (World Meteorological Organization) as the worst storm in 60 years in the history of Japan. However, hours before arriving in Tokyo, the townspeople witnessed a sky dyed a bright purple color. The phenomenon caused both surprise and fear, because, in fact, it heralded the arrival of an imminent natural catastrophe.

O awesome.club gathered the best photos of users who witnessed the unusual event and wants to explain what this natural phenomenon is due to and why it caused a certain panic in the population.

Hours before Typhoon Hagibis reached the island of Japan, the Japanese population was already prepared to face it. However, amidst the predictions, no one noticed that, little by little, the sky began to change its celestial hue, turning purple. Of course, given the climate emergency, some people believed it was an omen that announced that a great catastrophe was yet to come, and others simply captured the moment and shared it on social media with the entire world.

Of course, even the most skeptical users were afraid of the typhoon’s arrival, especially since many of these photographs were accompanied by the hashtag #PrayForJapan (“Pray for Japan”). The wave of panic intensified because, hours before the purple sky appeared, and already with the typhoon’s alert call, a seismic tremor of 5.7 on the Richter scale was recorded south of Chiba.

Despite seeming like a supernatural event, the truth is that it has a perfectly logical explanation. The appearance of the purple color in the sky is due to a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering, which is caused by the scattering of light through smaller particles, altered by the impending storm.

To understand it in a simple way, we must remember that light travels in waves and, having an electromagnetic nature, it can happen in a vacuum or in transparent media. Sunlight is made up of waves of different lengths, but the human eye can only see a certain range of them, which correspond to certain colors, such as red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple (yes, the colors of the rainbow ). In fact, purple has a shorter wavelength, which is why it is difficult to see. However, Tokyo’s sky was dyed this color before the typhoon, because the storm caused adequate wet conditions to make it visible.

While omens are often based on speculation, the truth is that the Hagibis caused deadly devastation. The typhoon caused unfortunate human and material losses. Several days after his passing, the work of rescuing and searching for people continues, as well as the sanitation of the places where he left nothing short of destruction.

Although the phenomenon has attracted international attention, it is not the first time it has happened. In fact, a purple sky was also observed after the passage of hurricanes Michael and Dorian in the United States.

Do you think the strength of Typhoon Hagibis and the extent of its destruction is attributable to climate change? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section.