Is it true that pollution creates amazing sunsets?
Particulate matter in the atmosphere can cause amazing sunsets. But you don’t have to believe me on that subject, read accounts from anyone who lived in the few years immediately after Krakatoa erupted in 1883. Since we unfortunately don’t have color photographs from that era we have to rely on descriptions and sketches such as those from William Ascroft who took it upon himself to make color illustrations of the sunsets as seen from the other side of the planet in Britain after the eruption. Particles hung in the air for about three years and he did thousands of drawings during that time. Images of some of his Ascroft’s art can be seen on the web. As for why New York might not have spectacular sunsets, I would speculate that it may well come down to the type of pollution. Particles suspended in the air can refract light (as suspended water droplets do to produ
