Japan’s Sky Turns Purple As Super-Typhoon Nears; Might Be Century’s Most Destructive Storm

It’s a known thing that our skies are meant to be blue. So when our skies change colour, we tend to be in awe and take photos because of how unusual it is.

Like when Indonesia’s skies recently turned red because of the haze.

Now, Japan’s sky has turned purple and sure, you may think it’s quite pretty actually, but this isn’t a good thing.

いっぱいとった pic.twitter.com/QfFNexSpn4

— メスゴリラ (@ika_mesugorira) October 11, 2019

空の色めちゃくちゃ紫やねんけど😅 pic.twitter.com/ZXkLwN8E54

— おおはし (@Ca___virgo) October 11, 2019

Impending Super-Typhoon

According to The South China Morning Post, residents of central and eastern Japan are bracing themselves for possibly the most destructive super-typhoon Hagibis since 1958.

Hagibis is the Philippine word for ‘speed’, and experts have warned Japan that this super-typhoon would be worse than Typhoon Ida which killed 1,296 people back in 1958.

Experts have also said that this typhoon would be worse than Typhoon Faxai that happened last month in eastern Japan, which killed three people and injured many more. Over 930,000 people were left without power in their homes for about two weeks.

This warning came about pretty early so as to warn residents of the danger.

This super typhoon was expected to hit Japan this morning, 12 October.

Measures To Ensure Safety

As a safety measure, flights to and from Japan have all been cancelled. The organisers of Japan’s F1 Grand Prix have also cancelled practice that was scheduled today in order to ensure everyone’s safety.

Residents of Japan have also started their preparation for the impending super typhoon. They have started stocking up on food since Thursday, 10 October, and made sure that they stay home today because it is too dangerous to go anywhere.

Japan’s Skies Turning Purple

駅からでたら、そこは魔界だった pic.twitter.com/x8blDBthOu

— しう忙多坊 (@Desu_unknown) October 11, 2019

This phenomenon of the skies turning purple is said to have happened because of a process called straining.

If there’s heavy rainfall in the day, the rainwater will wash the “large particles” out of the air. These large particles are able to absorb more light and distribute wavelengths more evenly, thus making the colours more muted.

Despite the pretty skies, let’s pray for the safety of Japan and hope that they get through this trying time.