Rainbow cloud spotted in Indonesia stuns the Internet: What is it and how is it formed? Check details

Last week, the residents of Indonesia were stunned after they witnessed a colorful rainbow cloud that quickly spread across the internet. The clip showed soft, multicoloured bands appearing across a thin layer of cloud, creating a spectrum-like effect in the sky, prompting netizens to ask whether it was a natural wonder, AI or a sign of luck.

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What is rainbow cloud?

Rainbow clouds form when sunlight passes through tiny water droplets or ice crystals of nearly uniform size in thin clouds. These particles diffract the light, bending and splitting it into its component colours, resulting in a shimmering, prism-like effect.


The viral video of stunning 'rainbow cloud' showed a massive cloud formation edged with varied streaks/linings of colour, ranging from bright pink greens to deep blues. The picture shows a sky scene with a large, towering cloud formation against a deep blue background. Local media reported that traffic near the town of Jonggol was temporarily halted because of the phenomenon. Last week, social media was filled with clips of iridescent clouds over parts of Bekasi and Bogor Regencies.

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How is rainbow cloud formed?

"This phenomenon occurs when sunlight passes through very tiny water droplets or ice crystals in clouds.
If the clouds are thin and located close to the Sun or the Moon, the light gets “split” into different colors — creating bright, iridescent rainbow-like patterns," a post on X reads.

A common atmospheric phenomenon

"The phenomenon seen in the video is a common atmospheric phenomenon related to atmospheric optics," Ida Pramuwardani, Acting Director of Public Meteorology at BMKG told Mehza.

"The rainbow colors appear due to the interaction of sunlight with water droplets in the air, from both lingering rainfall and from rain currently falling on the other side of the Sentul neighborhood, as in the video," Ida added.

The meteorologist explained that the cloud in the video is a high cumulus cloud that blocks part of the rainbow, giving it a unique appearance. The colours come from cloud iridescence - sometimes called "rainbow clouds" or "fire rainbows." "Instead, the rainbow cloud – which some compared to Mario Kart – indicates that convective clouds are forming and rain may be imminent," the meteorologist said.

Netizens reaction

"They are called halos, and are not very rare as such. Some forms are much more rare than others. It's difficult to classify this one, as it behind the cloud that looks like a thundercloud," asked a netizen. "Rainbow clouds in the sky… real or just an illusion?," asked another.

"Nature showing off its magic ��✨ Rare, beautiful, and a reminder how stunning science can look in real life," read another comment. "Omg..... This is beautiful," said another.

"That's stunning, a real rainbow cloud painting the sky like a masterpiece, it almost looks too perfect to be real. Have you ever seen something like that in person before?" one user wrote in the comment section.

"That's a chem trail around a cloud. That's a death rainbow by the way," another user added.

"Wow, this is stunning! That's a perfect iridescent cloud (cloud iridescence) - sunlight diffracting through tiny, uniform water droplets or ice crystals in the cloud edges. Nature's own prism! Absolutely magical. Thanks for sharing this beauty from Jonggol," a third user added.