How to explain the red sky in the Philippines before the super typhoon makes landfall?

Before Super Typhoon Usagi made landfall, the sky in the Philippines was a strange shade of deep red or bright pink, as if painted over. The wind was calm and the air was very still before the storm. What is this phenomenon and how can it be explained?

Typhoon Usagi (called Typhoon Ofel in the Philippines) reached its peak strength on the morning of November 14, when it became a super typhoon with sustained winds of 185 km/h (level 16), gusts of 230 - 240 km/h (above level 17), according to the Philippine Meteorological Agency (PAGASA).

By noon, it had weakened slightly, with winds of 175 km/h (level 15) before making landfall in Baggao City (Cagayan Province, Philippines) at 1:30 a.m. (local time, 12:30 p.m. November 14, Vietnam time). This is the fifth storm to affect the Philippines in just three weeks.

Authorities rushed to evacuate thousands of people from coastal areas ahead of the storm's landfall. In many places, evacuation was mandatory.

Philippine Coast Guard personnel help evacuate residents in Cagayan province on the morning of November 14, ahead of Super Typhoon Usagi's landfall. (Photo: Philippine Coast Guard/AFP)

While there aren't many images from the moment the storm hit (during strong storms, the weather is so bad and dangerous that sometimes it's impossible to get images right away), some people in the Philippines have posted photos of the 'calm before the storm'.

In Ocampo City, Camarines Sur Province, the sky at dawn (around 5:30 a.m. on November 14) was a strange pink color. In Albay Province, the sky was a terrifying red.

The sky is red in the Mayon volcano area (Albay province, Philippines) on the morning of November 14. (Photo: Nino Adonis Rebeta).

According to the Philippine Weather System and the Weather section of the Click Orlando channel , some experts explain that this 'red sky' phenomenon indicates that there is dust and water vapor in the air. Simply put, we see the sky as red because red has a longer wavelength, and at dawn and dusk, when the Sun is quite low, these longer wavelengths travel further, penetrating dust, smoke and tiny water droplets, while shorter wavelengths, such as blue, are scattered.

The phenomenon of "red sky" (sometimes pink) often signals the coming rain or extreme weather (lots of moisture in the air). That's why in our country we often say "red sky means rain".

Pink sky in Ocampo (Camarines Sur province, Philippines) on the morning of November 14. (Photo: Emm Suarez).

In addition, because the storm sucks in warm and moist air, the air outside the storm is quite dry and the sky is calm. Animals often sense this and seek shelter, reduce their activity and do not make much noise, making the whole space quiet.