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Northern Lights - what are they?
What in the World
Dec 19, 2024

Even if you haven’t seen them in person, you might be familiar with images of the Northern Lights - dark skies with moving ribbons of green and purple. But what actually are they? And why do we seem to be seeing more of them in 2024?

BBC science presenter Caroline Steele answers loads of questions about the Northern Lights, like why are they different colours and when and where are the best times to see them? We also chat about the Southern Lights and ask why don’t people talk about them as much?

And 21 year old photographer Hugo Korhonen from Finland tell us what it’s like to see the Northern Lights in person and how you can take the best photos of them.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Julia Ross-Roy and Maria Clara Montoya Video Journalist: Adam Chowdhury Editor: Verity Wilde

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A large proportion of USAID funding goes towards healthcare and HIV medication in sub-Saharan Africa. Makuochi Okafor, the BBC’s Africa Health correspondent tells us what impact closing USAID could have in this region.

Anselm Gibbs, a BBC reporter based in Trinidad and Tobago, tells us about programmes USAID funds in the Caribbean. And Hilde Deman from Search for Common Ground, an international NGO that uses USAID funding in countries affected by violent conflict, talks about the impact to their work in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: William Lee Adams Producers: Benita Barden and Julia Ross-Roy Editor: Rosanna La Falce


13min 08sec




Northern Lights - what are they?

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