Why is sunlight reaching the earth white in colour when blue light gets scattered in the sky? Why is sunlight reaching the earth white in colour when blue light gets scattered in the sky? Why when we see sky it looks blue but when we see in our surroundings it is not blue?
 A: If you were to look at the sun from the surface of the earth (I don't recommend it), it would seem yellow, but from space it's actually white. This is due to the scattering of blue light you mentioned. However, not all of the blue light is scattered, so most of it still directly reaches the earth. During sunrise and sunset, this effect is stronger, because the light has to travel further through the atmosphere, giving the air the chance to scatter more of the blue light, resulting in a more orange looking sun.
The sky looks blue because blue photons that would actually miss you are scattered in your direction, so that they reach your eyes. The intensity of this light is not strong enough to make everything look blue, especially when there is direct light from the sun, which is much brighter.
A: Sunlight reaching the Earth is not always white.  Have you ever seen a sunrise or a sunset?
When you see the Sun on the horizon, you are looking at it through a much longer column of air than when you see it directly overhead.  The lower the Sun gets in the sky, the more air you have to look through to see it, and the more the shorter wavelengths have been scattered out of your line of sight.
But what does "white" mean anyway?  That's a more a question about human physiology than it is about physics, and it's more complicated than I know how to explain, but here's an experiment you can try at home:
Wait 'till it's dark outside, and then light up one room in your house with "warm white" lamps, and light up an adjacent room with "full spectrum" or "daylight" lamps.
Now sit for a few minutes in either room and look at a sheet of "white" paper.  Does it look white?
OK, now go out into the darkness, and look at the windows of the two rooms.  What colors do you see?
