Rainbow-coloured sun halo sighted in Dehradun

A rainbow-coloured sun halo was sighted here on Sunday afternoon prompting the residents to record the unusual visual spectacle on their mobile phones and upload it on social media where it soon became viral. A rare optic phenomenon, the sun halo or '22 degree halo' appears like a rainbow encircling the sun or moon at a radius of approximately 22 degrees.

It occurs due to sunlight refracting in millions of hexagonal ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere, Director Meteorological Centre Bikram Singh said.