On Monday afternoon, a strange dark – yet orange – sky swooped over parts of the UK.

In equal measure people were confused, thinking that it was time to leave work and go to bed despite it being 3pm, and also freaked out as the sky – and very red sun – bore an eerie resemblance to apocalyptic scenes from various sci-fi films.

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The reason the sky looks like it's covered with Instagram's Nashville filter is thanks to Storm Ophelia, which ravaged parts of Ireland and Northern Ireland on Monday, causing severe destruction.

The red sky and sun is because the hurricane has dragged in tropical air and dust from the Sahara Desert. Forest fires in Portugal and Spain are also contributing to the redness.

Naturally, it being a weird weather thing happening in the UK, people on Twitter had a LOT to say:

From: Digital Spy
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Olivia Blair
Olivia Blair is Talent Editor at Hearst UK, working predominantly across Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Esquire and Harper's Bazaar. Olivia covers all things entertainment and has interviewed the likes of Margot Robbie, Emma Stone, Timothée Chalamet and Cynthia Erivo over the years.