Purple sky meaning: Why has the sky turned purple as Typhoon Hagibis approaches Japan?

But around the time of a major storm, the conditions are right for purple to make an appearance.

The air becomes super-saturated, with dew points high, clouds close to the ground and, if the sun is rising or setting, we can see the true colour of the sky.

Ms Rautenkrantz said: “This combination allows our eyes to see (the sky’s) true colours, since violet is there to begin with, we just don’t usually get to see it.

“The light scatters around the moisture in the air, causing the magical purple colour.”