Here's why the sky is really weird and orange right now

Have you been outside today? It’s like one of those movies set in the future where everything’s a desert and they’ve slapped a red filter on the lens. Everyone’s gone with Blade Runner 2049 but we’ll take this opportunity to shout out the much more gory, stupid and short Hardware (1980) which has a bit in where a man gets chopped in half by an automatic door. Anyway yes, it looks like Hardware outside. And also Blade Runner.

Naturally, Twitter is having a lovely time, as though the very idea of a red sun shouldn’t grip your heart with fear and squeeze until your head explodes.

All well and good, but why is this happening? The obvious answer, which is that the sun is made of blood now, is apparently being ignored in favour of a much less terrifying explanation which yes, we guess, makes sense.

According to BBC Weatherman Simon King, who we are apparently consulting instead of Belphegor, Seventh Prince of Hell, the red sun / orange sky is caused mainly by the last gasps of Hurricane Ophelia, which is pulling in a load of tropical air and Saharan dust. Apparently forest fires in Spain and Portugal are also hurling lots of muck into the air, which isn’t helping. The overall effect is that shorter wavelength blue light is being refracted by the dust, and that makes everything appear red.

Yeah, tell another one Simon. The Sahara is MILES away, whereas Hell is everywhere. We’re off to find a goat and some chalk.

Apparently this phenomenon is being reported in the South West, the Midlands, the North West and the North East, which we’re afraid can only mean one thing: the South East is already being force-fed an infinite rack of doughnuts. 

Here are a few more of the best pics:

See you all in Hell!

(Main image: Twitter)