Red sky at night
Incredible sunset over Paisley captured by readers
People across Renfrewshire captured stunning images of the sunset on Monday night as Saharan dust travelling more than 1,200 miles transformed the skies.
The breathtaking scenes of pink, red and orange were marvelled at by Buddies as the area experienced its first hints of spring this week.
Monday night’s spectacular sunset was caused by plumes of dust which swept across Scotland as temperatures begin to soar following a frozen February, according to forecasters.
Southerly winds from the desert have been blowing across a red plume of warm air from North Africa with temperatures reaching 12C in Renfrewshire, marking an end to a month of snow and rain.
And it is the dust high in the atmosphere which brought about the colourful skies across Renfrewshire and other parts of the country.
The yearly phenomenon, known as the Harmattan season, runs from November through March, and some Buddies may even notice dust coating their cars as it arrives throughout the week.
Sunrises and sunsets also tend to show more yellow and red lights because the sun is very low in the sky, meaning that the sunlight we see has travelled through a much thicker amount of atmosphere, scattering blue light away.
Speaking about the phenomenon, Met Office spokesman Oliver Claydon explained: ’As in other parts of the world, the wind can blow strongly over deserts – whipping up dust and sand high into the sky. If the winds in the upper part of the atmosphere are blowing north, the dust can be carried as far as the UK.
“Once it is lifted from the ground by strong winds, clouds of dust can reach very high altitudes and be transported worldwide, covering thousands of miles.”
The rest of the week isn’t looking as warm for the area as temperatures are set to dip back down to 6C throughout the week, with cold and clear skies dropping temperatures to around 1C through the night.