Rainbow clouds in a spectrum of colors adorn the sky over Beijing and captivate the world.

2026-04-14 2026-04-14T08:50:55Z
سنان خلف
سنان خلف
محرر أخبار جوية- قسم التواصل الاجتماعي

Arab Weather - The sky above the Summer Palace in Beijing, the capital of China, witnessed a rare aerial scene, represented by the appearance of iridescent clouds that looked like a moving light painting decorating the sky, in a phenomenon that received widespread interaction across social media platforms and search engines.

According to weather experts at Arab Weather, this type of cloud is scientifically known as iridescent clouds, and it occurs when sunlight passes through very fine water droplets or ice crystals inside the clouds, which leads to the scattering of light and the overlap of its wavelengths, resulting in the appearance of the colors of the spectrum in a gradual and bright manner in the sky.

This phenomenon is based on a physical mechanism known as diffraction, which is the diffraction of light around tiny particles within clouds, resulting in this amazing color gradient that can change within minutes as the angle of the sun and the density of the clouds change.

Iridescent clouds typically appear in thin, high-altitude clouds, when water droplets or ice crystals are close in size, conditions that are rare, making the observation of this phenomenon an exceptional event in the world of meteorology.

Experts point out that the appearance of these clouds over historical landmarks such as the Summer Palace increases their visual and media value, as the sky appears as a moving natural work of art.

This phenomenon is of great interest in China, where some see it as an aesthetic symbol and a positive omen, while science explains it as a purely optical phenomenon resulting from the interaction of light with the components of clouds.

This article was written originally in Arabic and is translated using a 3rd party automated service. ArabiaWeather is not responsible for any grammatical errors whatsoever.
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