Skies above the UK, France turn an eerie orange

Photos show the bizarre hue, thought to be caused by Ophelia.

ByABC News
October 16, 2017, 5:01 PM

— -- The skies above the United Kingdom and France glowed an eerie orange on Monday.

Winds from the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia pulling dust from the Sahara Desert and smoke from the wildfires burning in Portugal and Spain are thought to be the cause of the surreal skies, according to The Associated Press.

Photographers alternately described the color of the sky as red, orange, sepia and yellow-ochre.

PHOTO: Rooftops under an yellow-ochre sky in central Rennes, western France, Oct. 16, 2017.
Rooftops under an yellow-ochre sky in central Rennes, western France, Oct. 16, 2017.

Eurocontrol said it received an unusually high number of reports of cabin fumes in U.K. airspace.

Ophelia, now a storm, has killed at least three in Ireland.

PHOTO: People walk through Canary Wharf while the sky overhead turns red as dust from the Sahara carried by storm Ophelia filters sunlight over London, Oct. 16, 2017.
People walk through Canary Wharf while the sky overhead turns red as dust from the Sahara carried by storm Ophelia filters sunlight over London, Oct. 16, 2017.
PHOTO: A surreal sky over central Rennes, western France, Oct. 16. 2017, after it turned a yellow-ochre color due to sand from the Sahara desert and dust from wildfires in Portugal being carried by wind.
A surreal sky over central Rennes, western France, Oct. 16. 2017, after it turned a yellow-ochre color due to sand from the Sahara desert and dust from wildfires in Portugal being carried by wind.
PHOTO: The sky over the London Eye is bathed in a dull orange sky in London, Oct. 16, 2017.
The sky over the London Eye is bathed in a dull orange sky in London, Oct. 16, 2017.
PHOTO: The landscape turns orange and yellow over a road in Brittany, Oct.16, 2017 in Chasne-sur-Illet, western France.
The landscape turns orange and yellow over a road in Brittany, Oct.16, 2017 in Chasne-sur-Illet, western France.