Photographs that emerged on social media appear to show one of China’s cities shrouded in a spectacular violet mist on Wednesday.

Shocked residents witnessed a rare pink sky of smog blanketing the city of Nanjing in east China’s Jiangsu province on Tuesday, reports The People’s Daily Online.

The unusual phenomenon is a result of the sunset glow through the smog, not a combination of pollutants, claimed a Chinese atmospheric expert.

As striking pictures of the brightly coloured smog shrouded sky have spread quickly on China’s Twitter like social media site Weibo, the AQI (air quality index) levels still hit 221, indicating hazardous pollution.

The fluorescent purple haze became the second most talked about topic on Weibo when pictures were being posted at dusk in the city, with many speculating what it could be.

A local reporter from Nanjing’s Modern Express newspaper spoke to Professor Liu Hongnian from the Atmospheric Science Major in Nanjing University.

He said: ‘Smog only has three colours, and that’s grey, white and brown.

‘The pink colouring should be the result of the combination of sunset glow and smog, it is not caused by special pollutants.’

Smog levels in the city were ten times higher than levels deemed safe by the World Health Organisation. As a result, schools were ordered to do all activities indoors.

Read More: Purple haze: lilac sky at night highlights China’s smog blight

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