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Northern lights dazzle over Switzerland

Northern lights over Switzerland due to strong solar storm
Northern lights over Switzerland due to strong solar storm Keystone-SDA

Due to an unusually strong solar storm, auroras became visible in Switzerland on Wednesday night. Pink-coloured veils of light could be seen on webcams on the Rigi and Säntis mountains.

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The United States weather agency NOAA categorised the geomagnetic storm at the second-highest warning level G4.

According to the agency, such events can cause voltage fluctuations in power grids as well as disruptions to satellite, radio and GPS signals. Air traffic and pipelines may also be affected.

Northern lights are generally rare in the Alpine region. They occur when high-energy particles from solar storms collide with the Earth’s magnetic field.

The stronger the solar winds and the darker the observation site, the greater the chance of seeing the natural phenomenon, as stated in an earlier Meteonews report.

Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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