Is there an omen in the sky?
Residents in Wuhan, China, discovered in the early hours of the 15th that the sky outside turned blood-red, presenting an eerie sight.
Netizens speculated that it might be related to heavy fog.
According to the Xiaoxiang Morning Post, residents in Wuhan, Hubei Province, who had just finished their night shifts on the 15th, walked around the Hong Kong Road area along the riverbank and noticed something unusual. When they looked up, they saw the sky was blood-red, covered in a layer of red fog, a very eerie sight, which lasted for an hour.
In another video clip, the person filming pointed out that they were on the 21st floor of the pediatric ward at the Wuhan Children’s Hospital and captured the eerie sight of the blood-red sky. Many people exclaimed, “It looks fake,” and quickly woke up their families to see.
Chinese media reported that staff from the Hubei Meteorological Bureau said that the weather had been changing since the 15th, with strong convective weather. As for why the sky turned blood-red and why such a phenomenon occurred, further inquiries could be made to the Wuhan Central Meteorological Observatory.
Staff from the Wuhan Central Meteorological Observatory stated, “Regarding this (red) situation, it should not be related to the formation of fog. We have noticed the relevant videos and, based on preliminary judgments, the blood-red color in the footage has little to do with the formation of fog.”
The staff analyzed that it might be due to local (filming location) lighting. From a meteorological perspective, it generally would not produce such colored red light.
“I think this definitely is not a meteorological phenomenon, and there have been no observations of red fog. It is also not clear from the video footage about the external environment being filmed, and there might be red light appearing near the filming location.”
From videos taken by Wuhan residents, it is evident that this blood-red sky looks familiar. Indeed, a blood-red sky appeared more than once in Fuzhou, Fujian, China, in 2022. People felt a subtle unease seeing this, fearing it might be a bad omen.
After investigation, it was discovered that the culprit behind the blood-red sky was fishing boats. Local fishermen start catching saury during specific seasons, and the best method involves adding searchlights to their boats. The red light attracts saury, making them easier to catch. While one fishing boat with red lights might not create this effect, a cluster of fishing boats using similar tactics can exaggerate the phenomenon, even illuminating the sky and turning it blood-red. This was the cause of the blood-red sky in Fujian.
So, what caused the blood-red sky in Wuhan? Firstly, we can rule out a large number of fishing boats since there are no saury to catch in Wuhan. Most likely, it was due to unusual light sources. The phenomenon lasted about an hour and disappeared as the sun rose.
According to the local meteorological bureau, Wuhan was experiencing strong convective weather at the time, with a moist atmosphere and a misty appearance. If a strong red light source appeared nearby, and the light was intense or concentrated, it could create a bizarre blood-red sky at dawn. However, the photos and videos covered relatively small areas and did not indicate a widespread phenomenon.
People fear such occurrences; an unknown cause for a blood-red sky can lead to terrifying associations. The saying “when something strange happens, there must be a reason” reflects the Chinese ancestors’ way of thinking, aimed at avoiding harm. Such thoughts can sometimes help people stay safe.
The most likely cause of Wuhan’s blood-red sky was an unknown light source, with weather conditions playing a lesser role. Some netizens commented that a blood-red sky could be a bad omen, noting that unusual lights sometimes appear before earthquakes. Indeed, mysterious lights, known as earthquake lights, have been recorded before, during, and after some earthquakes.
However, not all earthquakes are accompanied by these lights, and their forms and colors can vary. For example, during the 1652 earthquake in Huoshan County, Anhui, records describe an eerie “red light covering the ground.” In the 2017 Mexico earthquake, strange blue lights, resembling lightning, were seen flickering in the sky.