The sky over a province of Indonesia turned into dark blood red over the weekend following the widespread forest fires which have plagued huge parts of the country.
Eka Wulandari, from the Mekar Sari village in Jambi province, captured the blood-red skies in a series of photos taken at around midday on Saturday, saying the haze had “hurt her eyes and throat”.
Another Twitter user posted a video showing similarly coloured skies. “This is not Mars. This is Jambi,” said user Zuni Shofi Yatun Nisa. “We humans need clean air, not smoke.”
A meteorology expert told that the unusual sky was caused by a phenomenon known as “Rayleigh scattering”.
Indonesia meteorological agency BMKG said satellite imagery revealed numerous hot spots and “thick smoke distribution” in the area around the Jambi region.
Associate Professor Koh Tieh Yong, of the Singapore University of Social Sciences, explained that this phenomenon, known as Rayleigh scattering, has to do with certain types of particles that are present during a period of haze.
Prof Koh added that this phenomenon would not “modify the air temperature”.
The haze is caused by open burning in Indonesia and to a lesser extent, parts of Malaysia. The burning usually peaks from July to October during Indonesia’s dry season
