Peru fire rainbow
© CENThe horizontal 'rainbow of fire' is scientifically known as a circumhorizontal arc. It is caused by numerous hexagonal ice-crystals in the clouds that are lined up horizontally when the sun is around 58 degrees from the horizon
An incredible 'rainbow of fire' cloud has been snapped by astonished bystanders who claimed it looked like Hell had 'split open'.

The phenomenon was spotted by citizens in the early hours of the morning in Patapo, in the Peruvian city of Chiclayo.

Despite the visual spectacle actually being formed of ice-crystals refracting sunlight at a certain angle, villagers joked that it was the onset of a biblical Apocalypse.

Villagers shared photos of the rare cloud on social media, where they went viral.

In footage of the rare phenomenon, one onlooker says: 'Good afternoon, right now we are seeing a rare yellow line in the sky, and people are a bit scared.

'The rainbow appeared in the early hours of this morning. It appears to be a cloud with a colour similar to yellow.'

Netizens joked that it was the biblical Apocalypse.

Netizen 'Valle Torres Jhosep' said: 'Regret sinners... The Lord is coming... now a lot of you will take your bibles and will start reading and beat their chest, ridiculous... and religious people will say that God is near us'.

Another user added: 'Hell has been split open... repent or you will be burned.'

Another commented: 'It is the whip of fire that is coming here to punish sinners... the end of the world is coming.'

And Evelyn Cruz Llaguento said: 'In the Bible it is said that fire will fall from the sky, as will the blessing to the disciples of Jesus in order to evangelise all the nations.'

But most of the comments clearly showed that most users were not fooled and were aware there was a scientific explanation.

The horizontal 'rainbow of fire' is actually known as a circumhorizontal arc and is actually an optical illusion.

It is caused by numerous hexagonal ice-crystals in the clouds that are lined up horizontally when the sun is around 58 degrees from the horizon.

They must be aligned horizontally to properly refract sunlight like a gigantic prism. It is usually seen in cirrus or cirrostratus clouds.

Some locations have a greater chance of a fire rainbow forming, with the best places having a mid-latitude and located close to the equator.

The line of fire effect seen in the Peruvian pictures is formed when the arc is fragmented.

In its full form, the colours seen are the same spectrum of hues found in a true rainbow.

As with rainbows, it is usually caused by light from the sun but can be formed in rare instances by light from the moon.