21 Surreal Images of a Yellow Sky and Red Sun Caused by Historic Storm Ophelia

The second half of 2017 has brought an alarming number of hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires to North America — but the uptick in uncommon natural disasters striking major cities isn't even close to limited to one part of the world. Instead, it's becoming increasingly clear that climate change is affecting everyone around the world, in very real and frightening ways.

The latest string of events kicked off on Oct. 16, as the remains of Hurricane Ophelia took an alarmingly atypical detour toward Ireland and the UK, closing Irish schools and putting the country on lockdown. At present, Ophelia is responsible for three deaths and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power, while planes are being forced into emergency landings as a result of sand being carried northward toward the UK from the Sahara. To make matters worse, in nearby Iberia — a region that encompasses parts of Spain, Portugal, and France among others — Ophelia's winds have only fanned the flames of ongoing, widespread forest fires and proceeded to carry massive amounts of dust northward toward England and Wales. As a result of the particulates being mixed together, the UK and Ireland witnessed a truly bizarre sight: yellow-to-red tinted skies with a dark red sun.

Ahead, we've pulled together 21 of the most unreal photos captured by individuals throughout the area, some of which almost appear to be eclipse-like in scale. As always, our hearts are with those who are taking shelter in the affected areas, and you can follow along with the latest updates here.