Second night in a row Northern lights shine over Switzerland again

For the second night in a row, auroras can be seen in the Swiss sky. The cause is a particularly strong solar storm.

Keystone-SDA

20.01.2026, 21:38

SDA

As darkness fell on Tuesday evening, auroras once again became visible over Switzerland. Violet light could be seen on webcams such as the one on the Gornergrat in the canton of Valais.

The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) could also be observed on the Jungfraujoch in the Bernese Oberland, as a glance at the webcam there showed.

Strongest geomagnetic storm in two decades

A particularly strong solar storm had already caused northern lights in the Swiss night sky on Tuesday night. According to the weather service Meteonews, this was the strongest geomagnetic storm in over 20 years.

Glowing skyStrong solar storm causes auroras over Switzerland

The natural spectacle could be observed in many regions of Switzerland. The auroras were particularly visible outside the fog zones and at higher altitudes.

Green auroras, which are rare in Switzerland, were also observed. On the Central Plateau, widespread fog and high fog below around 700 to 800 meters prevented visibility.

Radio communications can also be affected

Particles emitted during solar storms can disrupt the Earth's magnetic field, which, in addition to the northern lights, can also affect radio communications, cause problems with satellites and overload the power grid. Northern Lights can also occur in regions where they are otherwise rarely observed.

The aurora borealis is the generic term for the colored luminous phenomena in the sky that occur when particles from a solar storm collide with the Earth's magnetic field.

The Southern Lights (Aurora Australis) is the southern variant of this - it appears over Antarctica and southern Australia, for example, while Aurora Borealis can be seen at the North Pole and in northern Europe.