Residents woke up to striking orange skies yesterday reminiscent of the sunsets seen six months ago when smoke particles from wildfires in Canada drifted far into the Atlantic.

Bermuda also experienced unusual skies in June 2020 when clouds of Sahara desert dust carried high in the atmosphere blanketed the island.

This time, the Bermuda Weather Service said the glow over the island was likely the result of fierce winds sweeping in from the west and whipping seawater high into the skies.

The details from the BWS came as the service gave temperature figures for 2023, showing the island was warmer last year than recent averages — but probably not as hot as it might have been, thanks to the high number of cloudy days.

Ian Currie at the BWS told The Royal Gazette yesterday: “The orange sky colour this morning was in part caused by microscopic particles, known as aerosols, suspended in the atmosphere, which scatter sunlight.

“These aerosols can include smoke, sand and dust originating from distant locations, although Nasa's tracking models suggests their absence this morning.

“More likely, today's orange colour could be attributed to the presence of water droplets and salt spray kicked up into the atmosphere ahead of the cold front advancing from the west.”

Strong north-westerly winds were forecast to ease overnight, but another frontal system was expected to push through the region tomorrow, bringing the island another bout of rain and windy weather.

Mr Currie noted the island’s temperatures last year were above the average for 2000 to 2023, but were nonetheless Bermuda’s lowest recorded since 2014.

This means the island bucked a concerning global trend linked to global warming, as Nasa found the Earth’s temperatures for 2023 were the hottest on record.

Nasa found world temperatures last year climbed about 2.1F (1.2C), above the average for its baseline period of 1951 through 1980.

Mr Currie said the figures from the BWS were Bermuda-specific statistics reflecting “local climatic factors within a recent period and may not be directly comparable to World Meteorological Organisation data pertaining to the pre/post-industrial period”.

He added: “Differences in regional variability, data collection methodologies and the temporal scale of analysis should be considered when interpreting and contrasting these data sets.”

Bermuda's annual average air temperature for 2023 was 72.5F (22.5C).

Mr Currie said BWS observed a similar trend for Bermuda’s sea surface temperature.

He added: “These specific local data points were influenced by factors such as the extreme accumulated rainfall and extensive cloud cover during 2023.”

In 2023, the island recorded its wettest year since 1902, with 77.36in of rain.