Cloud 9 - Rainbow clouds over Lahore!

The atmosphere today was relatively clearer and full of humidity due to a spell of heavy rainfall in the morning and later there were high clouds (cirrus and cirrostratus clouds) which were showing extreme iridescence by the sun's light hidden behind these high clouds a few minutes before sunset. It was so beautiful that I was captivated for the entire 15-20 minutes they were visible in the sky and felt like being on cloud 9.

Cloud iridescence or irisation is a colorful optical phenomenon that occurs in a cloud and appears in the general proximity of the Sun or Moon. The colors resemble those seen in soap bubbles and oil on a water surface. It is a type of photometeor. They sometimes appear as bands parallel to the edge of the clouds.

Iridescent clouds are a diffraction phenomenon caused by small water droplets or small ice crystals individually scattering light. Irisation is caused by very uniform water droplets diffracting light (within 10 degrees from the Sun). If parts of clouds contain small water droplets or ice crystals of similar size, their cumulative effect is seen as colors. The cloud must be optically thin, so that most rays encounter only a single droplet. Iridescence is therefore mostly seen at cloud edges or in semi-transparent clouds, while newly forming clouds produce the brightest and most colorful iridescence.

Canon EOS 1300D
Samyang 135mm, f/2.2 lens
Canon 50mm, f/1.4 lens

All images shot with above mentioned lenses