Hurricane Ophelia turns UK sky an apocalyptic yellow - here's the reason why

If you look through your window, you might notice the London sky is quite post-apocalyptic at the moment. With oranges and yellow hues, the eerie landscape draws picturesque comparisons, from the Lord of the Rings to Blade Runner. A man carrying a "The end is nigh" wouldn't be too out of place if he walked past the London Eye.

The phenomenon was first reported in Wales and Southern England this morning, then expanded to the rest of the country – and even the French region of Normandy.

Not to worry, there's a perfectly logical explanation: Hurricane Ophelia.

"Ophelia has drawn Saharan dust north to the UK, making the sun appear red this morning," tweeted the Met office.

In the process, the former hurricane gathered a lot of dust particles from Southern Europe and Africa, explains Met Office forecaster Grahame Madge.

The gloomy colours result from the particles Ophelia picked up on its way.

"The dust gets picked up into the air and goes high up into the atmosphere, and that dust has been dragged high up in the atmosphere above the UK," the BBC's Simon King said.

He also pointed out that debris from forest fires in Portugal and Spain was also in the mix.

On social media, the reaction was as swift as one would expect.

Thankfully, the MET office was a reasssuring presence