Orange Skies Day Explained

2020 San Francisco Orange Skies Day
Place:Bay Area, California, United States
Cause:Smoke from the North Complex Fire

Orange Skies Day was a climatological event that occurred in the San Francisco Bay Area on September 9, 2020.[1] [2]

The orange-colored hue in the sky was the result of smoke from the North Complex Fire (including the Bear Fire) and more than 20 other wildfires, which burned more than 2 million acres east of the San Francisco Bay Area.[3] This smoke scattered blue light wavelengths, which only allowed warmer colors to reach the Earth's surface.[4]

September 9, 2020

On the morning of September 9, 2020, the sun failed to appear. As a result, light-sensitive bridge and street lights remained alight the entire day, and drivers were recommended to keep their headlights on all day.[5] Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist, wrote that the smoke was "almost completely blocking out the sun across some portions of Northern California."[6] In a tweet, the San Francisco Fire Department stated, "We know the smoke, darkness and orange glow is scary. It is going to get better."[7]

The San Francisco Giants played against the Seattle Mariners under the orange skies[8] as part of the 2020 San Francisco Giants season. The air quality on the ground was 90, so the game scheduled for that day took place as planned.

Responses

Public officials, such as former-President Barack Obama, attributed the event to climate change.[9] California Governor Gavin Newsom stated, "I quite literally have no patience for climate change deniers. It's completely inconsistent, that point of view, with the reality on the ground."[10]

In popular culture, the day was compared to the films Blade Runner 2049 and Dune.[11] [12] In 2022, a theatrical concept album by the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company titled "The Day the Sky Turned Orange" was performed at the New Roots Theatre Festival.[13]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hartlaub . Peter . The orange skies have faded. But Orange Skies Day is forever . San Francisco Chronicle . March 24, 2023 . March 24, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230324230553/https://www.sfchronicle.com/culture/article/The-orange-skies-have-faded-But-Orange-Skies-Day-15632948.php . live .
  2. Rexroat . Kelsey . The Day the San Francisco Sky Turned Orange . New Yorker . April 20, 2021 . March 24, 2023 . March 24, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230324230553/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/video-dept/the-day-the-san-francisco-sky-turned-orange . live .
  3. News: Fuller . Thomas . Wildfires Blot Out Sun in the Bay Area . New York Times . September 9, 2020 . March 24, 2023 . March 24, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230324230553/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/09/us/pictures-photos-california-fires.html . live .
  4. Web site: Remembering the day smoke-choked skies cast an eerie dark orange glow over Bay Area . CBS News . September 9, 2022 . March 24, 2023 . March 24, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230324230553/https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/smoke-plume-casts-eerie-orange-glow-over-bay-area/ . live .
  5. News: Paul . Kari . 'Good morning, hell': Californians awake to apocalyptic skies as wildfires rage . The Guardian . September 9, 2020 . March 24, 2023 . March 24, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230324230553/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/09/orange-sky-california-fires-smoke-san-francisco . live .
  6. Web site: Surreal orange skies as wildfire smoke blocks sun in Bay Area . Los Angeles Times . September 9, 2020 . March 24, 2023 . March 24, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230324230553/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-09-09/amazing-photos-of-deep-orange-skies-snowing-ash-as-fire-smoke-swamps-bay-area . live .
  7. Web site: California wildfires cast 'scary' orange glow over San Francisco . DW . March 24, 2023 . March 24, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230324230553/https://www.dw.com/en/california-wildfires-cast-scary-orange-glow-over-san-francisco/g-54874583 . live .
  8. Web site: San Francisco Giants Play Under Eerie Orange Skies as Deadly Wildfires Sweep the West Coast. September 9, 2020.
  9. Web site: Jain . Sanya . Barack Obama Shares Pics Of Orange Skies Amid West Coast Fires . NDTV . March 24, 2023 . March 24, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230324230553/https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/barack-obama-shares-pics-of-orange-skies-amid-west-coast-fires-2293404 . live .
  10. News: Ominous orange sky gives San Francisco apocalyptic tint . Times of India . September 10, 2020 . March 24, 2023 . March 24, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230324230553/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/ominous-orange-sky-gives-san-francisco-apocalyptic-tint/articleshow/78044786.cms . live .
  11. Robinson . Joanna . Under San Francisco's Orange Skies, Adjusting to an Unnerving New Normal . Vanity Fair . March 24, 2023 . March 31, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230331224025/https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/09/san-francisco-orange-sky-oakland-fire . live .
  12. News: Holder . Sara . The Day the Sky Turned Orange . Bloomberg . September 10, 2020 . City Labs . March 24, 2023 . August 19, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210819113601/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-10/under-orange-skies-the-bay-area-sees-the-future . live .
  13. Web site: Janiak . Lily . We all remember orange sky day. Now it's a theatrical concept album . Datebook . San Francisco Chronicle . 11 October 2023 . July 29, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230729233742/https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/theater/we-all-remember-orange-sky-day-now-its-a-theatrical-concept-album . live .

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