‘This is not Mars’: Sky turns ‘blood red’ in Indonesia, images go viral

A resident of Jambi province, Sumatra, who witnessed the red sky, told BBC that the haze “hurt her eyes and throat”.

Pictures and videos of a “blood red sky” over Indonesia have triggered panic among people after they went viral on social media. The phenomenon occurred due to the interaction of sunlight on particles from smoke in the air, Reuters reported.

While forest fires in the country is nothing new, often caused by slash-and-burn farming practices, the situation has aggravated due to El Nino — unusual winds that cause warm surface water from the equator to move east towards Central and South America.

A resident of Jambi province, Sumatra, who witnessed the red sky, told BBC that the haze “hurt her eyes and throat”. Known as the Rayleigh scattering, the unusual occurrence has generated quite a buzz on social media, with many sharing pictures of the “blood red” sky.

Dapet kiriman video sama temen di bagian kumpeh,muaro jambi. Suasana nya jadi merah karna asap dan titik api disana, di kota jambi hanya asap yang tebal.
Pak @jokowi tolong lirik kami di jambi ini :(( pic.twitter.com/pY6IZaiElB

— nirma saputri (@nirmasptri) September 21, 2019

Genuinely terrifying image from Indonesia’s ongoing environmental catastrophe: red sky in Muaro Jambi, in Sumatra. pic.twitter.com/G45MvigNjM

— Mattias Fibiger (@mefibiger) September 22, 2019

Hey @elonmusk,

https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/08/1x1.png

All we know about Planet Mars is the reddish planet, also it atmosphere.

Well.. I don’t want you have some misunderstanding, so I’ll tell you before; THIS IS NOT MARS!

This is Jambi @ Indonesia. The air somehow changed cuz of forest fire.pic.twitter.com/3WhjcVx5Lc

— Duke of Condet (@DukeCondet) September 21, 2019

異世界の扉 (Isekai no Tobira)
~The Door of Another World~

WTH is that? Another Japanese novel with #isekai genre?

No. This is a door from a certain village in Jambi, Indonesia.

The red sky is not photoshopped, but a real nightmare because of very thick haze from Forest Fire. pic.twitter.com/kfthXxE7zz

— Duke of Condet (@DukeCondet) September 23, 2019

Red sky seen in #Jambi, Indonesia. What you’re seeing is Mie scattering/ Reyleigh scattering. The reason this is happening is due to toxic pollution which is 153% higher than what is typically considered to be toxic air pollution. We have screwed this
planet.🙁😣 #AirPollution pic.twitter.com/pX9A0HBEk1

— Juned Sumra (@JunedSumra) September 24, 2019

that viral video of red sky in Indonesia really freaking me out. The end is near. Can you imagine how asap ad dukhan will be? or…hm idk idk astaghfirullahalazim

— Syazmin Razak. (@Smissxoxo) September 22, 2019