On Tuesday, June 30, while rescue teams continued to search for survivors amid the rubble left by the devastating earthquakes on June 24, the sky of Caracas and other Venezuelan cities turned intense reddish hues during sunset, triggering a new wave of alarm among a population already struck by tragedy.
The images of the unusual phenomenon in the Venezuelan sky quickly spread across social media, with many users interpreting it as an ominous sign or a supernatural event related to the earthquakes.
A user on X summed up the collective sentiment with a phrase: "Red sky in Caracas, just what was missing."
However, the experts were clear: there was nothing extraordinary or related to tectonic activity.
The scientific explanation: Rayleigh scattering
"It is essentially a very common optical phenomenon that occurs anywhere on the planet. It has a name, and it is called Rayleigh scattering."
Capote explained that during sunset, sunlight must travel a much greater distance through the atmosphere before reaching the observer's eyes. Along that journey, short-wavelength colors—such as blue and violet—scatter easily, while long-wavelength colors—red and orange—manage to arrive with greater intensity.
"What reaches us, to our eyes, are the red components of the white light that comes from the sun," he specified.
The phenomenon even has a name in Spanish: candilazo, defined by the Royal Spanish Academy as a twilight glow.
The meteorologist José Miguel Viñas, a consultant for the World Meteorological Organization, describes it as "the dispersion of sunlight at sunset when a layer of clouds intervenes in its path."
Viñas adds on his website Divulgameteo that "the intensity of red and orange colors is greater at sunset than at sunrise, due to the higher presence of suspended particles in the air in the afternoon."
Why was it so intense this time?
Several factors may have amplified the visual effect in Venezuela.
The arrival of Sahara dust in the Caribbean -expected since mid-June 2026- increases suspended particles in the atmosphere, intensifying the reddish coloring.
This is further compounded by the high humidity and cloudiness typical of the season, and possibly the dust generated by the collapse of dozens of buildings during the earthquakes.
Capote also noted that the same phenomenon was recorded on June 29 in Tampa Bay, demonstrating that it occurs in any corner of the planet regardless of any seismic activity.
The context that explains fear
The alarm among the Venezuelan population is understandable. The two earthquakes on June 24 – with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, occurring just 39 seconds apart – were the most devastating in the country in over 125 years.
As of June 30, the death toll exceeded 1,943 and more than 10,571 injured, with tens of thousands missing.
The UN estimated over 6.76 million affected by the disaster, and the state of La Guaira was declared a disaster zone.
Rescue efforts remain active with international support, while over 600 aftershocks kept the population on edge.
In that atmosphere of mourning and extreme tension, a crimson-tinged sunset was enough to awaken new fears.
Experts, however, were clear: the reddish sky does not signal anything; it can occur anywhere in the world, and there is no scientific evidence linking red skies to seismic activity.
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