Luminous clouds over Nîmes 2016

Summary

On December 17, 2016, three people in Nîmes observed about thirty white light points (one orange) silently moving across the sky. They recorded a video, but the witness didn’t want it published. GEIPAN concluded it was likely Thai lanterns. The wind that night went from north to south, matching the movement of the lights. Although the witness doubted due to irregular trajectories, the video showed the points moving left to right as expected. Urban conditions can create variable air currents, explaining some irregularities.

Fixed points in the recording were likely stars visible under low cloud cover. The witness also noted halos around the lights, but these were caused by optical aberrations. Given the festive weekend context, GEIPAN classified the case as B, attributing it to Thai lanterns.