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It's spring in Finland — at least officially

The vernal equinox arrives on Wednesday.

A sunny forest.
Meteorologists have forecast a grey but mild end to this week. Image: Matias Väänänen / Yle
  • Yle News

Wednesday marks the spring equinox, when night and day are approximately equal in length on all parts of the planet.

The March equinox means both hemispheres get the same amount of sunlight. Night and day are now equally long — about 12 hours — everywhere on Earth.

In Finland, this time of the year has typically been good for catching a glimpse of the northern lights.

The days will now continue to lengthen and the nights shorten in the northern hemisphere until the summer solstice, which falls on 20 June this year.

Finland will see between five to ten more minutes of daylight each day until the end of June.

Daylight saving time will come into effect on Sunday, 31 March, when clocks "spring" forward by one hour at 3am.

The All Points North podcast went chasing the northern lights in Finnish Lapland. Listen to the episode via this embedded player, on Yle Areena via Apple or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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