Goodbye to the mystery of the pink sky in England: the phenomenon that went viral during a snowfall explained

Imagine stepping outside at night, in the middle of a snowstorm, and finding everything around you bathed in an intense pink glow – as if you were inside a science-fiction movie.

That is exactly what happened last night in Birmingham, England. Thousands of people shared images and videos on social media showing pink skies as snow fell, creating a striking scene made even more surreal by a thick fog that blanketed parts of the city and partially obscured buildings. The spectacle was so uncanny that many of those who reported it felt compelled to stress that the images were not generated by AI.

This is not the first time we have explored natural phenomena in an attempt to explain what causes them – from the extraordinary midnight sun that creates endless days to the mysterious polar night. In this case, however, the mystery lasted only a few minutes, because the pink sky over England had a very simple explanation – one that may disappoint anyone hoping for something more extraordinary.

There was no mystery at all. The culprit was a soccer team. Yes, really. The phenomenon originated inside St Andrew’s Stadium, home of Birmingham City, which plays in England’s second tier, the English Football League Championship. The pink glow was caused by the LED lighting system used to maintain the stadium’s natural grass pitch, which illuminated the surrounding area.

As the so-called Storm Goretti swept through the region with heavy snowfall, the unusually low cloud cover dramatically increased the sky’s reflectivity, amplifying the glow from nearby artificial light sources and tinting the snowfall and fog pink. Mystery solved.

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