As snow began falling across large parts of the West Midlands on Thursday evening, people in Birmingham noticed an unusual and striking sight overhead: the sky glowing an intense shade of pink.
Social media quickly filled with guesses about the cause. Some wondered if it was an unusually dramatic sunset, while others speculated that the Northern Lights might have made a rare appearance over the city.
However, the explanation turned out to be far more ordinary.
Birmingham City Football Club later confirmed that the vivid colour came from pink LED lighting being used on the pitch at St Andrew’s stadium.
Aerial images taken during the snowfall clearly showed the football ground illuminated in bright pink, with the light reflecting upwards and colouring the low clouds above the city. Additional photos traced the glow directly back to the stadium, which was surrounded by snow-covered buildings.
The pink sky was not limited to Birmingham alone. Images were also shared from Hednesford in Staffordshire, where residents reported seeing a similarly coloured sky.
BBC weather presenter Simon King explained that the combination of cloud cover and falling snow made the sky more reflective than usual. This allowed artificial lighting to bounce off the clouds more effectively, with Birmingham City’s stadium identified as the main light source.
Earlier in the week, Hednesford Town Football Club experienced a similar visual effect. The club later posted on social media that the glow was caused by their own LED pitch lights, which were being used to help the grass grow and recover. In a light-hearted message, the club said the lights were “keeping us ready to chase three points, not the aurora”.
Weather watchers also shared images showing the sky turning a strong pink hue over snow-covered rooftops and trees in Hednesford.
Simon King added that low cloud levels, particularly during snowfall, can cause city lighting, streetlights, buildings and even purple-toned football stadium lights to reflect back into the sky, producing colourful glows.
In Birmingham city centre, the phenomenon was visible above roads, landmarks and residential areas as heavy snow began to fall.
A spokesperson for the Met Office, Grahame Madge, explained the science behind the effect. He said blue wavelengths of light are more easily scattered by snowflakes or water droplets in the air, which allows longer wavelengths such as red and orange to pass through more clearly.
“This can result in the sky appearing pink or orange,” he said.
Photographs taken near Green Lane Masjid in the Small Heath area showed the pink glow above supermarkets, streets and falling snow, while other images captured the colour reflecting above the city’s clock towers and rivers.
BBC Weather Watchers across the region also submitted photos showing the sky tinted pink and purple, with illuminated buildings glowing beneath it.
Images shared by Hednesford Town Football Club showed pink LED lights being used to treat sections of their pitch, offering further evidence of how stadium lighting can dramatically affect the appearance of the night sky.
The striking display, though briefly mysterious, was ultimately caused by artificial lighting interacting with winter weather conditions.
