Sunset in St. Petersburg colors sky in fiery hues

On the evening of January 25, the sky over St. Petersburg displayed a picturesque spectacle reminiscent of a fiery palette. Recently, such impressive sunsets have been occurring more frequently in the city.

In different districts of the city, the sunset looked different. Over some neighborhoods, delicate violet-pink tones prevailed, while in other parts of the metropolis, the horizon flared with intense red-orange flashes.

Residents of the Northern Capital actively photographed this natural performance and published the shots on social networks.

The day before, on January 24, a rare atmospheric phenomenon was observed in the sky over St. Petersburg — a sun pillar, which is also called a «vertical sunset». This is a vertical band of light stretching upward from the sun during its setting or rising.

A sun pillar forms when light reflects off nearly horizontal flat faces of ice crystals suspended in the air.

On the night of January 25, residents of Leningrad Oblast noticed another optical phenomenon — light pillars. White vertical bands appeared in the dark sky.