Overview
- Videos from West Java showed pastel bands on cloud tops over Jonggol in Bogor and nearby Bekasi, and the clips drew massive attention on social media.
- Indonesia’s BMKG said the footage is genuine and natural and rejected claims that the images were generated by AI.
- Meteorologists explained that the colors form when sunlight diffracts through very small, nearly identical water droplets or ice crystals in thin clouds.
- Analyses linked the scene to a smooth pileus cap sitting over a rapidly growing thunderstorm cloud, a setup that often makes iridescence vivid at certain sun angles.
- BMKG noted the sight signals growing convective clouds and a chance of local rain rather than an imminent severe storm, and observers were urged not to look near the sun to view it.