'Rainbow cloud' seen over Singapore during final NDP preview: 'So beautiful'
A "rainbow cloud" appeared over Singapore on the evening of Aug 2, wowing observers who shared images online.
Sharing a video of the multi-coloured weather phenomenon at 6.15pm, a Stomper said it was "so beautiful".
Facebook user Koh See Tien posted in the CloudSpotting & SkySpotting Singapore group photos of a member of the Red Lions parachute team gliding towards the Padang during the final National Day Parade preview with the rainbow cloud as the spectacular backdrop.
Other videos were also posted on TikTok.
Was it a iridescent cloud or a "fire rainbow"?
Also known as a circumhorizontal arc, a fire rainbow is an optical phenomenon that is formed when sunlight passes through and is refracted by ice crystals in cirrus clouds at a high altitude.
On the other hand, an iridescent cloud is when light passes through tiny ice crystals or water droplets and is diffracted, thus resulting in a rainbow-like effect.
A so-called fire rainbow in Singapore made news around the world in February 2017, but the Meteorological Service Singapore said it was in fact an iridescent cloud.
