People in Ho Chi Minh City enjoy admiring colorful clouds

(Dan Tri) - A colorful cloud suddenly appeared in the sky in Ho Chi Minh City on a weekend afternoon, making many people excited and using their phones to record the beautiful moment and share it on social networks.

At around 4pm on May 12, many people living in districts in Ho Chi Minh City were surprised to see a beautiful, multi-colored cloud.

Colorful clouds taken from Ben Thanh market's perspective (Photo: Lien Nguyen).

The colorful clouds appeared in the western sky of Ho Chi Minh City, when the sun was about to set. Many people walking on the street and playing in some parks caught this moment and immediately took out their phones to take pictures. Ms. Thu Thao (28 years old, living in District 11) said that she has lived in Ho Chi Minh City for more than 3 years, this is the first time she has witnessed the colorful clouds. "I have heard about colorful clouds but I did not expect them to be so beautiful," Ms. Thao said.

Colorful clouds from the perspective of Cho Ray Hospital (Photo: Huynh Nhu).

In addition, Mr. Nguyen Hung (residing in Thu Duc City) said that the clouds were located high so almost everyone in the city could see them. Not only in Ho Chi Minh City, people in Dong Nai also observed them clearly. "This natural phenomenon is truly beautiful. I wish the clouds appeared every day so everyone could admire them," Mr. Hung said.

In Hoc Mon district, colorful clouds shine brightly in the afternoon sun (Photo: Thanh Lam).

Many Facebook Fanpages sharing images of iridescent clouds also received thousands of likes, shares, and comments. According to Dan Tri reporters, by nearly 5 p.m., the iridescent clouds were obscured by other clouds and disappeared. Iridescent clouds (English name is Cloud iridescence) is the phenomenon of colors appearing in a cloud. It is a fairly common phenomenon, most commonly seen in altocumulus, cirrocumulus, and cirrus clouds.

Iridescent clouds are a diffraction phenomenon caused by individual water droplets or small ice crystals scattering light (Photo: NA).

Talking to reporters, Ms. Le Thi Xuan Lan, a hydrometeorological expert, said that below the iridescent cloud that appeared in the sky of Ho Chi Minh City this afternoon was a white cloud shaped like cauliflower. It was an extremely strong thunderstorm cloud, formed after the return of hot days. The phenomenon of iridescent clouds occurs when sunlight shines through the scattered clouds. "Water vapor is densely concentrated in the cloud, solar radiation penetrates through, creating the phenomenon of scattered clouds. In white light, there are 7 colors. When dispersed, some colors are lost, while more colors remain, which is why iridescent clouds are formed," Ms. Lan said. According to Ms. Lan, this is an optical phenomenon, when the thunderstorm clouds develop densely, it signals that some places will have rain accompanied by gusts of wind, whirlwinds, and lightning. This cloud develops at an altitude of 6-7km or higher, possibly up to 10km. The water particles in the cloud often turn into ice crystals, which can easily fall down. When falling to the ground, it forms hail. Hail does not occur everywhere, it mainly occurs during thunderstorms, lightning, and gusts of wind.

According to weather experts, when thunderstorm clouds develop densely, it signals that some places will have rain accompanied by strong winds, whirlwinds, and lightning (Photo: PT).

In addition, Mr. Le Dinh Quyet, Head of the Southern Hydrometeorological Station, said that iridescent clouds are a natural phenomenon that occurs when there is diffraction of light. Sometimes this phenomenon occurs in the atmosphere, when cloud particles or ice crystals with small individual structures scatter light. The colors in the clouds when this phenomenon occurs are not the same as the rainbow phenomenon (7 colors) according to the solar spectrum, but the colors in iridescent clouds are sometimes pale, sometimes very colorful. "We can only observe the rainbow phenomenon when we turn our backs to the sun, which means it usually appears in the morning or late afternoon, the observation angle is 42 degrees, often occurring when the rain has just stopped, while the iridescent cloud phenomenon can be observed more widely, in any location," said Mr. Quyet.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/nguoi-dan-o-tphcm-thich-thu-chiem-nguong-may-ngu-sac-20240512172532462.htm