Northern Lights alert issued by Met Office with '90% chance' of seeing lights in UK

Stargazers have been told there's a "90% chance" of witnessing the Northern Lights across parts of the UK tonight, with the Met Office sharing areas where people might catch a glimpse.

Scotland was treated to the display last night, and this evening, residents in the north of England might also be in for a treat, right from their homes.

The Met Office has shared a map indicating where the chances are highest, spanning from Scotland through to the Midlands. However, cloud cover could obstruct the view.

But for those with clear skies, the likelihood of seeing the Northern Lights is could be as high as 90%.

The Met Office commented: "Northern regions have further chances to see the aurora over the next few nights. Cloudy skies mean limited view opportunities for most of us, but with clearer skies in northern and western Scotland, there's a much better chance here."

They added that any "glancing coronal mass ejections", or CMEs, which are huge releases of plasma and magnetic field from the sun's atmosphere, could bring the chance of an aurora sighting. Aurora displays only happen when these charged particles collide with gases in Earth's atmosphere near the magnetic poles, resulting in light emissions at various wavelengths and creating the spectacular natural light show, reports the Mirror.

In November 2024, stargazers across the UK were treated to a mesmerising display as the Northern Lights graced the skies with pink and green hues filling the skies. The extraordinary aurora borealis phenomenon sparked a social media frenzy, with numerous people posting their snapshots and footage of the event that extended much further south than it had been seen before.

Often observed over Iceland, Alaska, Canada, Norway, and Finland,