Massive wildfires set the skies ablaze with vivid sunsets and sunrises. Here’s why
Wildfires have burned millions of acres across the western U.S. this summer and the smoke has had far reaching effects.
During the day, the haze reduces visibility and creates a fog-like appearance. But as the sun rises and sets, it creates a brilliant canvas of oranges, yellows, reds and pinks.
Why?
The same reason we can see a rainbow — the light from the sun goes through “refraction,” the Idaho Statesman reported. It’s a process where light bends through a “transparent substance into another,” according to the Science Learning Hub.
“When there are smoke particles in the air, the particles distribute light differently than a cloud would,” said Meteorologist Sheena Parveen, according to KNSD. “So with smoke particles, we tend to see more orange and red colors scattered across the sky.”
The sky’s color depends on how close the wildfire producing the smoke is to you, the Statesman reported. The closer it is, the less brilliant the sunset, according to the newspaper.
But from farther away, the smoke creates a dazzling sight.
“Certain colors of light will interact with [the particles] and scatter in a random direction,” Kevin Davenport, an experimental physicist, told CPR News. “Longer wavelengths of light, like reds and oranges, don’t interact with them and they can just pass through.”
California has recorded 7,563 wildfire incidents in 2020 as of Tuesday, which have burned nearly 2.2. million acres statewide, according to Cal Fire. Some parts of the state have reported “unhealthy” or “hazardous” air quality due to the smoke, AirNow shows.
Washington state has reported eight active wildfires that have burned nearly 240,000 acres as of Tuesday, according to the Washington Department of Natural Resources. Smoke across the state has reduced the air quality in some areas to “hazardous,”, the Washington Smoke Blog shows.
This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Massive wildfires set the skies ablaze with vivid sunsets and sunrises. Here’s why."