Mysterious pink hue lights up sky over UK town. Here's why

Some people termed it as a “supernatural occurring" and others called the striking pink hue an "alien invasion". (Image: Steve Barnes/Facebook)

An unusual pink glow lighted up the sky in Kent, UK and left people baffled last week, with some saying it looked like “the end of the world”. Locals in Thanet district were left wondering about the eerie pink hue that lit up the sky at dawn, during 5 am and 6 am on Thursday. Several pictures of the same were shared on social media sparking a plethora of theories.

“At first, it looked like otherworldly, the way the pink light was mixing with the morning mist and cloud cover. When I got nearer it was as if someone was having a massive UV rave in the buildings it was coming from,” Dale West, a local, told The Independent.

“It isn’t normally noticeable but when the cloud cover and fog comes into play it makes it 100 times more obvious,” he added.

While some people termed it as a “supernatural experience”, others thought that an alien invasion was about to take place.

“Thought it was the end of the world, was looking for the four horsemen,” a user joked. Another user wrote, “It's just Zuul from Ghostbusters.” For the unversed, Zuul is a “demigod” and an evil entity from the 1984 horror-comedy Ghostbusters.

However, much to the relief of locals, the striking pink hue was not because of any supernatural occurring and was also not a part of any doomsday prophecy. The cause behind the brilliant tinge to the sky was identified as Thanet Earth, which is a large industrial factory located in Birchington, used to grow 400 million tomatoes, The Independent reported.

“Britain’s leading glasshouse complex sits proudly within the landscape of East Kent. These enormous glasshouses are estimated to produce around 400 million tomatoes, 30 million cucumbers and 24 million peppers each year,” their website mentioned.

According to a spokesperson for Thanet Earth, the artificial pink light is reflected during certain weather conditions, particularly when there is a low dense cloud cover over the Thanet area.

“We mitigate this light reflection as much as possible by deploying blinds in our glasshouses once the lights are switched on.”

“We continually assess our operations and their impact on the community and the pink LED lights we use here at Thanet Earth have much lower emission levels compared to other types of growing lights,” he added.

As per The Independent, identical pink glowing lights have been reported across the country in recent weeks. East Yorkshire locals also took to social media to describe the mystery glow as a sign of extraterrestrial aliens and UFOs.