An unusual red-looking sun seen across Malta last week was likely caused by smoke from wildfires in Greece, according to a meteorologist.

The hue was especially noticeable at sunrise and sunset, with the moon also spotted looking red on occasions throughout the week.

According to meteorologist Andrea Muscat, the phenomenon was probably caused by smoke blown towards the central Mediterranean by strong north-easterly winds in the upper levels of the atmosphere.

“Cloud cover over the Maltese Islands was close to negligible on most days. Despite this, the sky was shrouded in haze,” said Muscat, who also runs the Maltese Islands Weather page on Facebook.

“As confirmed by satellite images, smoke from wildfires in northern Greece – over 1,000 kilometres away – was blown towards the central Mediterranean. This is likely to have caused the widespread and persistent haze,” he said.

When asked why this could have contributed to the sun’s red hue, Muscat explained that hazy skies blocked out certain parts of the visible light spectrum, filtering out blue, green and purple “completely” due to their shorter wavelengths. 

The red-looking sun seen across Malta last week. Photo: Alison Galea.

“The moon and sun attained bright red and orange hues, particularly when rising or setting. When they are lower in the sky, light travels through a greater thickness of the Earth’s atmosphere. 

“This allows colours with a longer wavelength, such as red and orange, to scatter more and thus reach the human eye more easily,” he said.

 'It felt like we were on a Star Wars planet' 

In photographs and videos sent to Times of Malta, the sun can be seen a distinctive red colour against hazy skies.

Alison Galea, who snapped a photo from Attard, said it looked like something out of a science fiction film.

"It did not look like the Sahara sand skies we’re used to... It felt like we were on a Star Wars planet or in a Blade Runner movie," she said.

"It made me think how we are all affected by climate change and environmental disasters, no matter how near or far we are."  

A satellite image from August 23, taken from NASA’s Worldview website. Photo: NASA Worldview.

Meanwhile, satellite images taken from NASA’s Worldview website show larges plumes of smoke from Greece drifting over the central Mediterranean.

Responding to questions, the Met Office confirmed that “it is possible that smoke from the wildfires in Greece impacted the skies above Malta between August 24 and 27, given the favourable wind direction on the former day.”

In addition to smoke from wildfires, “aerosols, volcanic eruptions and industrial activities” can also filter out colours with a shorter wavelength, the Met Office said.

“Smoke from wildfires is composed of a complex mixture of particles, gases and aerosols. The specific composition can vary according to the type of vegetation burned and the combustion conditions,” the Met Office said, but noted it does not hold data for the composition of smoke generated by the wildfires in Greece.