Cold Air Creates Mirage off Iwate Pref.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:56 JST, January 30, 2023

An optical illusion in which an island, at right, looks as though it is floating above the sea’s surface is seen off Toni Bay in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, on Sunday. The phenomenon, known as an “inferior mirage,” occurs when the air temperature is lower than the seawater temperature, creating a layer of warm air near the water’s surface, causing refraction. The lowest temperature there on the day was minus 4.2 C, while the seawater temperature sat at about 8 C.