Is it or isn’t it a rare pink aurora above Kai Tak? Hongkongers have their say

Hongkongers looking at the morning sky on Thursday may have thought they were witnessing a rare pink aurora – but it was most likely to be light pollution.

A large swathe of the sky above Kai Tak Stadium glowed pink in the early hours, but the Observatory said it was not linked to a geomagnetic storm recorded in recent days.

“We have conducted a preliminary inspection of the photos and we do not believe this is a natural phenomenon,” the Observatory said.

Instead, the forecaster said surrounding city lights were likely to have been the cause.

The unusual sight prompted social media users to wonder whether it was connected to a geomagnetic storm that brought pink hues to other parts of the world in recent days.

“Did not you watch the news? It’s the peak of the solar storm. There will be pink auroras in different places around the world in the next two days,” one social media user said.

“The northern lights! You are so lucky,” another wrote.