Polar Stratospheric Clouds Look Like Painting in Finland Skies

Finland's skies looked like a wide canvas painted with rainbow colors. The sight was reportedly due to an extremely rare atmospheric phenomenon.

Rainbow-Like Clouds Spotted in Finland

Italian couple Rebecca Paviola and Davide Anzimanni were in Finland when they saw the colorful skies that took them by surprise. Paviola told Newsweek they were near Lake Inari, and she had just woken up. When the photographer and content creator opened the door of their room, she was welcomed by a sky that looked like a painting.

Anzimanni, a photographer and content creator, said they immediately went back into their room to get their camera. According to him, the result was exciting. He said he would never forget that morning because "it's so rare to see them."

Seasoned storm chaser Paul Botten also witnessed the light display for the first time. He was in Sommarøy, Norway, over 300 miles away from Lake Inari when his eyes were treated with the magnificent sight.

He told Newsweek that it was "so beautiful."

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Why Did The Skies in Finland Look Like a Huge Painting?

The awesome sight was reportedly due to polar stratospheric clouds, known for their rainbow sheen. They are rare atmospheric phenomena that form when the temperature is below minus 108 degrees F in the stratosphere and between 49,000 and 82,000 feet above the ground.

These clouds rarely form because, at the said heights, there is relatively little moisture making it so unusual. During a typical Arctic winter, polar stratospheric clouds would only appear two or three times.

They occur when the trace of water in the stratosphere coalesce to form tiny ice crystals and drift into thin, wispy clouds. The diffraction and interference of light produce the ethereal, iridescent sheen.

They are most visible at sunrise and sunset. According to Paviola, the light display was visible for about two hours.

What are Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs)?

According to Skybrary, polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are also known as nacreous clouds from nacre or mother of pearl due to their radiance. They are clouds in the winter polar stratosphere.

They are associated with very high surface winds indicating the presence of or induce winds and waves in the stratosphere. PSCs are classified as Type 1 and Type II clouds according to their chemical composition.

They are known as sites of harmful destruction of the stratospheric zone over the Antarctic and Arctic. Their surfaces reportedly act as catalysts converting benign forms of human-made chlorine into active free radicals.

NASA confirmed that they play an important role in Antarctic ozone destruction and have been occurring with increasing frequency in the Arctic. In the past years, the atmosphere in the Arctic has been colder than usual, and the polar stratospheric clouds have lasted into the spring, decreasing ozone levels.