Nacreous clouds over UK 2016 HD

Nacreous clouds Storm Henry strange sky, sunset with the colours of the rainbow. Really unusual never seen a sunset like it February 1st 2016. Nacreous clouds typically form in the winter polar stratosphere, a layer of our atmosphere around 15,000 to 25,000 meters in altitude. The stratosphere is generally very dry and so cloud formation is rare, but it seems as though recent storms may have driven moisture high into the atmosphere. As pretty as they may look, nacreous clouds have a darker side too. These clouds enhance the breakdown of Earth’s ozone layer, a vital part of our atmosphere that provides protection from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. The ice crystals in the clouds encourage a chemical reaction between the ozone layer, which is made up of a specific type of molecular oxygen (O3), and gases such as chlorine and bromine. In fact, it is estimated that just one atom of chlorine in the stratosphere can destroy over 100,000 ozone molecules.