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Midnight sun to light up northern Sweden this week

Treriksröset, Sweden’s northernmost point and where the country borders Norway and Finland, saw its last sunset at 48 minutes past midnight on Sunday. The sun will now not set in the far north of Sweden until July.

Midnight sun to light up northern Sweden this week
Midnight sun in Kiruna. Photo: Asaf Kliger/imagebank.sweden.se

The days will now get longer and longer fast. The midnight sun is set to reach Abisko and Karesuando on May 25th, followed by the city of Kiruna on May 28th. It will reach the Arctic Circle just before Midsummer’s Eve and then the days will get darker again.

Midnight sun, as well as polar night, the period of the year where the sun does not rise above the Arctic Circle, are both caused by the axial tilt of the Earth and its revolution around the sun.

In the northern hemisphere the North Pole is tilted towards the sun in summer, so instead of setting, the sun instead moves in a horizontal circle above the horizon. From midsummer, the North Pole gradually turns away from the sun, with the nights getting darker and darker until midwinter.

The same is true in the southern hemisphere, with a six-month time difference – that’s why summer and winter occur at different times in both hemispheres.

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WEATHER

Traffic chaos and cancelled flights as blizzard hits east coast of Sweden

Traffic accidents, school closures and cancelled flights were reported in Sweden on Tuesday as a blizzard swept in from the east, with up to 30 centimetres of snow forecast for some areas.

Traffic chaos and cancelled flights as blizzard hits east coast of Sweden

A yellow weather warning was issued for the north-east of Sweden, from Stockholm to just south of Luleå, including a more serious orange alert for the area around Umeå and Skellefteå, where up to 30 centimetres of snow was expected to fall between Tuesday and Wednesday.

In Gävle, all school buses were cancelled on Tuesday, reported Gefle Dagblad. And in Skellefteå, broadcaster SVT reported schools were to close early so that children could get home before dark.

Several flights between Stockholm and Umeå were delayed due to the blizzard. One flight which was scheduled to land in Umeå at around noon was forced to turn back to the capital due to the strength of the side winds, reports regional newspaper Västerbottens-Kuriren.

Several traffic accidents were reported, including two trucks crashing into each other on the E4 motorway south of Umeå, although by 3pm there had been no reports of serious injuries.

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