The Margin: An ‘apocalyptic’ yellow sky is freaking Brits out — here’s what caused it

The sky has turned yellow in Britain, and it’s freaking people out.

Instead of the usual grey, the sky changed color to a brooding ochre in several parts of the U.K. on Monday, with the sun a flaming red ring or ball in the murk. Others reported a strange red hue, while some saw just a bland shade of beige.

“Is this the end of the world?” asked many Twitter posters, with others calling the color shift “eerie,” “apocalyptic” and just plain “weird.”

The culprit? The storm that was once Hurricane Ophelia, which has dragged up dust from the Sahara, along with smoke from wildfires in Spain and Portugal — at least, that’s what weather experts suspect.

Particles in the atmosphere scatter blue light, leaving only red light, according to the U.K. weather authority, the Met Office.

“The same southerly winds that have brought us the current warmth have also drawn dust from the Sahara to our latitudes, and the dust scatters the blue light from the sun letting more red light through, much as at sunrise or sunset,” the Met said, City A.M. reported.

Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Ophelia, née Hurricane Ophelia, is doing a lot more damage, reportedly leaving at least two people dead after making landfall in Ireland. Schools have been closed and ferries canceled as the island nation of 4 million people endures violent winds and heavy rain, with 360,000 homes now without electricity after power lines were pulled down by falling trees.

See: Ireland on lockdown as Ophelia makes landfall as dangerous storm