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Swedes cheer arrival of summer's midnight sun

The Local Sweden
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Swedes cheer arrival of summer's midnight sun
The Nordic midnight sun. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen/NTB/TT

If you enjoy bright nights, it's time to head to northern Sweden, where this summer's so-called 'midnight sun' premiered this weekend.

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Between May 20th and July 21st, the sun will not set at Treriksröset, Sweden's northern-most point where the country borders both Norway and Finland.

On Monday, the village of Karesuando is set to get its first taste of the midnight sun, which will then continue to move further south to reach Abisko on Tuesday and the city of Kiruna on Thursday.

The phenomenon, which occurs in the area north or south of the polar circles, means that the sun is visible for 24 hours around the clock depending on weather conditions and the absence of clouds.

“A famous spot near the northern polar circle is Jokkmokk,” Sofia Söderberg, meteorologist at Swedish weather institute SMHI, told the TT newswire.

READ ALSO: 'How dare Swedes moan it's too light outside?!'

Swedes based in central or southern parts of the country still had cause to celebrate at the start of the week, with temperatures set to soar in the Nordic country.

The mercury was expected to edge above 20C on Monday and hit a scorching (this counts as scorching in Sweden) 25C on Tuesday, with as much as 27C predicted in Malmö in the south.

“It's hotter than usual,” SMHI meteorologist Lovisa Andersson told the regional Sydsvenskan newspaper on Monday.

Southern and central Sweden officially entered summer in early May after temperatures reached double digits for more than five days in a row. And the sun-starved Swedes have already started making the best of the warmer weather, throwing barbecues and going for swims in the country's many lakes.

The Local reader Jia-Wen Wu from Taiwan sent us this lovely picture snapped in the picturesque Dalarna region.


Photo: Jia-Wen Wu

Swedish-Finnish comedian Mark Levengood was among those who posted pictures of his first dip of the year in the sea, joking that it was in fact still so cold he got ice in his eyebrows.

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