{"id":102800,"date":"2026-05-10T15:53:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T10:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=102800"},"modified":"2026-05-11T16:42:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T11:12:40","slug":"rainbow-clouds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/rainbow-clouds\/","title":{"rendered":"Rainbow Clouds"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Rainbow Clouds Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indonesia recently witnessed a breathtaking &#8216;rainbow cloud&#8217; phenomenon, captivating residents and going viral online.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>About Rainbow Clouds<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A rainbow cloud can occur because of something called <\/span><b>cloud iridescence.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cloud iridescence occurs when <\/span><b>sunlight is diffracted <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">by <\/span><b>extremely small water droplets or tiny ice crystals suspended in clouds<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Diffraction happens when light bends and spreads after encountering particles similar in size to the wavelength of visible light.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This process <\/span><b>separates sunlight into multiple colours,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> creating the <\/span><b>striking pastel shades and rainbow-like patterns<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> seen across the clouds.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They<\/span><b> form most clearly when cloud particles<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are <\/span><b>unusually small <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><b>relatively uniform in size.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Why is the Phenomenon Relatively Rare?<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cloud iridescence does not appear frequently because several atmospheric conditions must align at the same time.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>clouds need to be thin enough for sunlight to pass<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> through while <\/span><b>also containing droplets or ice crystals <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that are <\/span><b>nearly identical in size.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even small differences between particles can weaken the colours or prevent the phenomenon from appearing altogether.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>position of the Sun <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and the <\/span><b>observer\u2019s viewing angle<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are extremely important.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Which Clouds Can Produce Iridescence?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Newly forming clouds <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><b>semi-transparent clouds<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are <\/span><b>more likely<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to produce vivid iridescence because <\/span><b>their particles tend to be more uniform.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is commonly seen in <\/span><b>altocumulus, cirrocumulus, <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/types-of-clouds\/\" target=\"_blank\">cirrus<\/a>, and lenticular clouds.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Lenticular clouds <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are especially known for <\/span><b>dramatic iridescent display<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">s because <\/span><b>their smooth shape<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>stable airflow<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> often <\/span><b>allow highly uniform droplets to form.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These clouds typically develop at<\/span><b> high altitudes <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">where <\/span><b>atmospheric conditions <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">remain relatively <\/span><b>stable<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, making it<\/span><b> easier for sunlight to interact<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> consistently with suspended particles.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Difference Between Rainbow Clouds and Real Rainbows<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite the popular nickname, rainbow clouds are not technically rainbows.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Traditional rainbows<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> form when <\/span><b>sunlight is refracted, reflected, and dispersed inside raindrops <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">after rainfall.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Cloud iridescence,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the other hand, is mainly caused by <\/span><b>diffraction and interference involving microscopic droplets <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">or ice crystals.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Iridescent clouds<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> usually appear much <\/span><b>closer to the Sun <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and often<\/span><b> produce softer, less structured colour patterns <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">than ordinary rainbows.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Instead of forming a large arc across the sky, the colours <b style=\"font-size: inherit;\">spread unevenly across sections of cloud.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/news\/new-updates\/rainbow-cloud-spotted-in-indonesia-stuns-internet-what-is-it-and-how-is-it-formed-check-details\/articleshow\/130843570.cms?from=mdr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ET<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rainbow Clouds occur because of something called &#8221;cloud iridescence&#8221;, in which  sunlight is diffracted by extremely small water droplets or tiny ice crystals suspended in clouds.<br \/>\n. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":102872,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[7466],"class_list":{"0":"post-102800","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","8":"tag-rainbow-clouds","9":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102800"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102963,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102800\/revisions\/102963"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}