Red Sun: Why is the sky yellow, how long will it last and is this a rare phenomenon?

Dust particles from the continent pulled up through a 'vigorous and powerful system'

A plane flies past the Shard in central London (PA)

People across England have been posting pictures of a red sun and eerie-looking sky on Monday.

The change in the sky is due to Storm Ophelia, which is currently moving in from the west coast of Ireland and will move north across Scotland overnight.

It has caused the sun to appear red and the sky to appear yellow over parts of England, including the Midlands and the south west.

Why has the sun turned red and the sky turned yellow?

​Grahame Madge, a Met Office spokesman, told The Independent that the change in the sky was due to dust particles from the continent, being pulled up through a “vigorous and powerful system” connected to Storm Ophelia.

“It’s drawing air from the south that contains dust from the Sahara and is picking up smoke particles from the wildfires in Portugal and Spain.

“These particles are helping to scatter the sunlight,” he said.

“So, just as we get at sunset, the particles in the atmosphere are scattering and diffusing the bluer wavelengths of sunlight, which is leaving more of the red light to come through.”

How long will it last?

As Storm Ophelia moves across Scotland on Tuesday and over the North Sea to Scandinavia, it will allow conditions in the south of Britain to “improve dramatically”, Mr Madge said, adding that the wind coming in from the Atlantic would not contain the same amount of dust.

It is expected to clear overnight.

A Red Sun in the sky above Aberdovey on the Welsh Coast (Jon Freeman/Alamy Live News)

Is it a rare phenomenon?

The UK encounters this phenomenon with Saharan dust about once or twice a year, Mr Madge said, though it usually happens overnight.

The addition of smoke particles from the wildfires may have added to the effect this time however, and people could wake up with a layer of dust on their cars in the morning.