Chinese officials deny pollution is causing pink sky

Pink skies over parts of urban China have sparked pollution and health fears, but authorities insist they are a natural phenomenon.

Photographs taken by residents in the city of Dexing, in the country's south east last Friday, show the sky completely pink, reported the official People's Daily. 

Three pictures believed to have been taken from a school showed the sky with a pink hue at around dusk.

Officials from the Dexing Environmental Protection Bureau assured the city's 300,000 population the strange colour was the result of cloud formations. They explained that the light travelled much further than normal and caused the scattering of green, violet and blue lights away from people's vision.

But many people refused to accept the government explanation and took to social media to vent their anger.

One person posted on Weibo that the pink sky was caused by emissions from "various chemical factories" and the dumping of copper sewage.

They accused authorities of not paying attention to pollution concerns.

"Now (the pollution) has seriously affected the residents' daily life."

Environment protection officers dismissed the concerns the colouring was caused by industrial emissions.

"There are two factories near where the photos were taken, and one manufactures plastic containers. The other produces sulfuric acid. Neither rates any waste that can cause the sky to turn pink," officials told local media.

It's not the first time in China the sky has changed an unusual colour. Photos taken in Nanjing in December 2015 showed the city shrouded in a violet fug.