Rare green storm clouds envelop UAE skyline yesterday, April 16, 2024
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by Balikbayan Store
1 min reading time
Storm clouds over swathes of the UAE displayed an unusual green hue, captured dramatically by photographer Salem Al-Sawafi yesterday, April 17, 2024. While it may seem surreal, this phenomenon is not unheard of, albeit rare.
The green tinge in storm clouds is a result of specific atmospheric conditions, often associated with supercells. Supercells are cumuliform storm clouds featuring a mesocyclone—a rotating updraft. Within these clouds, strong updrafts occur when the upper part of the cloud is exceptionally cold, causing rising air to encounter temperature, moisture, and pressure differences.
As the updrafts facilitate hail and ice formation, they also scatter light wavelengths, with blue light being prominent. This scattering process leaves an abundance of green light, hence the Kermit-colored atmosphere observed today.
