Rainbow scarf cloud over a China city: See this beautiful phenomenon

It looked like a brightly coloured rainbow twisted like a scarf over a cloud.

This rare phenomenon left the residents of Haikou, a small city in southern China, stunned on August 21 and pictures of it are going viral on social media.

What they were witnessing was a scarf cloud, or pileus, which is a small, horizontal, lenticular cloud appearing above a cumulus or cumulonimbus cloud.


It's normally formed when the rising air in the towering cumulus pushes against the cooler air above it, condensing the moisture at the top of the updraft.

The refraction of sunlight along this condensed top layer of moisture makes it look as if it is acap or scarf.

Even among the pileus, a rainbow scarf is an very rare sight, and what those people were witnessing was a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon.

But forget all that science and let's look in wonder at this marvel of nature.

The picture evoked a lot of wonder admiration on social media.

“I wonder if the earth is special or if most planets offer as much of a magnificent view,” one user posted. “Damn China’s sky looks crazy, another posted.

A pileus can also form above Pilei mountains, ash clouds, and the clouds from erupting volcanoes. They are a beautiful sight, but sadly they are shortlived, with the main cloud below rising through the convection to absorb them.