Published 17:11 IST, September 24th 2019
"Blood-red skies" seen in Indonesia post wild fires in Sumatra Island
With raging forest fires in Indonesia, visibility is often a problem due to smoke and haze but parts of the Sumatra Island witnessed skies in blood-red colour.
With the raging forest fires in Indonesia, visibility is often a problem due to smoke and haze but parts of the Sumatra Island witnessed skies in blood-red colour as a result of the sun's rays coming in contact with smoke in the air due to the raging wildfires.
The El Nino climate pattern
The Southeast Asian nation has spent several months tackling wildfires frequently caused by cut and burn cultivating practices, as an El Nino climate pattern fuels the dry season that leads to cloudiness over the area.
One of the people staying at the Sumatra island said that the winds were strong and the smog was dense. She further added that the rare occurrence lasted until evening and breathing was a bit difficult due to the smog.
The occasion rapidly garnered a lot of attention online on social media platforms such as Twitter, with one video raking up more than 600,000 views in three days.
Aerosols
In order to witness a red sky, aerosols must be present in the air according to a US-based researcher, A. R. Ravishankara.
Aerosols are strong or liquid particles suspended in the air all-around that can be generated from both regular procedures and activities by human beings.
The regular structure can be a result of wild forest fires, dust kicked up by storms or volcanic eruptions in addition to other things.
As indicated by reports, the sky had turned red in parts of Sumatra because of the dispersing of the sun's rays by particles floating in the air, a phenomenon also called the Mie scattering.
The reports also indicated that there was evidence of very thick smog in the Muaro Jambi area of Sumatra with satellite readings giving the indications of many hot spots. The satellite showcased a few regions seemed dark in colour yet the Jambi area seemed to be white in colour, showing the smoke to be thick.
With raging wildfires and smog being a frequent problem, the concerned authorities have tried to put a stop to the problem by imposing a fine that goes up to 10 billion rupiahs while people responsible for burning can be jailed for up to a decade.
Updated 18:48 IST, September 24th 2019