Stunning solar halo appears in Shenzhen midday sky

Video by Liu Xudong

At midday today, many residents in Shenzhen were surprised to witness a phenomenon known as a "solar halo" with the naked eye. According to experts at the Shenzhen Observatory, the solar halo is a common natural occurrence, indicating a significant presence of water vapor in the air, which is typical in weather phenomena.

The solar halo view captured near Jingtian Metro station. Lin Jianping

The solar halo, also referred to as a circular halo, is an atmospheric optical phenomenon formed when sunlight passes through cirrostratus clouds and is refracted or reflected by ice crystals. This results in a clearly visible circle of light around the sun, displaying colors from the center outward in the sequence of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Cirrostratus clouds are white, translucent cloud veils through which the sun and moon can be distinctly seen with well-defined outlines, often creating a halo effect.

The duration of solar halos can vary, lasting for several hours or just a few minutes, depending on factors such as the position and thickness of the clouds.

From a scientific standpoint, the solar halo is a normal natural phenomenon and holds no supernatural predictive function in folk belief. A Chinese saying related to sun halos suggests, “A solar halo predicts rain in the evening, while a lunar halo indicates wind at noon.”