Climate change is directly affecting the aurora borealis

Question

According to a social media user referenced in this reddit post, climate change is affecting the typical locations where the aurora borealis appears. The user asserts: “…it isn’t normal to see them this frequently in places that far south. This is a direct effect of climate change.”

Answer 1

The user seems to draw a causal connection between Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) and climate change by implying that climate change directly alters the light phenomenon's pattern/path.

According to the Space Weather Prediction Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), "the aurora is one manifestation of geomagnetic activity or geomagnetic storms. As the solar wind increases in speed and the interplanetary magnetic field embedded in the solar wind turns southward, the geomagnetic activity will increase and the aurora will become brighter, more active, and move further from the poles. Even moderate solar wind creates aurora so there is usually a weak aurora somewhere even when there isn’t a big geomagnetic storm."

While climate change does not directly affect the path or locations in which Aurora Borealis can be seen, it can impact how clearly we can see it when the auroras appear e.g. smog, fog, light pollution, weather patterns, etc. It seems that the solar winds and Earth's magnetic field can only impact the occurrence of the auroras and not climate change.

Space Weather Prediction Center, NOAA: https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/content/aurora-tutorial

Perlan: https://perlan.is/articles/climate-change-northern-lights

Comments

This is a very well written answer in response to the prompt given. While the prompt lacks back up evidence this response gives strong evidence and respectfully doesn't desbute but adds on to how the northern lights are indirectly affected by climate change. it is very well worded with use of very credible sources.

Answer 2

The comment you posted links to a post made user u/msimms in the r/confidentlyincorrect subbreddit which describes itself in it’s About section as “For those times when people are way too smug about their wrong answer”. This user titled their post “Red on Instagram confidently incorrect about climate change affecting aurora’s”. The accompanying photo features an anonymous comment exchange without context on what posts the comments are about. The initial commenter says “It’s pretty but it isn’t normal to see them this frequent in places that far south. This is a direct result of climate change.”Someone responds to this comment: “the aurora’s are one of the few things climate change does NOT affect. Aurora’s have to do with charged particles from a solar flare and the earth’s magnetic field. Climate is not part of that equation. Solar activity affects the auroras, and we’re at or just past the solar maximum, the peak of solar activity in the solar cycle. Climate change is real though”. Two comments follow this from another two anonymous users “wrong” and “Cyclical climate change has always existed” respectively.

Though this post makes a lot of claims, your particular question is about whether climate change is affecting typical locations where aurora borealis appear and/or if climate change directly affects aurora borealis. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) and Aurora Australis (Southern Lights) are the result of electrons colliding with the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere”. Further, that aurora occur due to accelerated electrons following the magnetic field of Earth into Polar Regions where they collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, thus causing a transfer of energy that ultimately produces light.

Further, the NOAA explains that “When space weather activity increases and more frequent and larger storms and substorms occur, the aurora extends equatorward. During large events, the aurora can be observed as far south as the US, Europe, and Asia. During very large events, the aurora can be observed even farther from the poles.” It is unclear where OP meant by “that far south” in their post but perhaps this explains increased observation of aurora borealis.

In terms of climate change in particular, there is no direct effect on aurora but there are indirect effects. This is perfectly summarized by Rashmitha Diwyanjalee of Climate Fact Checks, an independant environmental journalists trained in the field of fact-checking. In their article titled The Northern Lights: A Spectacular Display Influenced by Climate Change, Diwyanjalee explains how climate change may influence aurora’s appearences in terms patterns and intensity, visibility, and trackability (climate change does affect ability to monitor and predict solar events). Diwyanjalee backs up these claims with resources from British Geological Survey, Advancing Earth and Space Sciences, the Environmental Protection Agency, Climate Central and NASA. In sum, while the relationship is complex “climate change can indirectly affect the Northern Lights by altering atmospheric and geomagnetic conditions.”

In sum, there is not enough context nor enough explanation to know what OP meant about “normalcy” and “frequent viewing” so “far south” due to “climate change.” Solar phenomena and Earth’s magnetic field are influenced by factors still not completely understood and the connection of climate change has still not been fully investigated.

Answer 3

This claim cannot be proven true or false until their is evidence that suggests that climate change is directly affecting the aurora borealis. It happens mostly because of energy from the sun, not Earth’s weather or temperature (charged particles from the sun collide with gases in Earth's upper atmosphere). While climate change may change the air or clouds, there is no strong proof it changes the aurora itself. Some people might see the aurora less because of more clouds or pollution, but that doesn’t mean the aurora is changing.

Answer 4

Looking at the source provided, this isn't a very reliable claim. The claims in the evidence provided itself, doesn't give factual evidence either. When looking looking at the argument in the Reddit post you can see that it is categorized in the tag called, r/confidentlyincorrect which is described as "For those people who are way too smug about their wrong answer".

So with this information already provided to me I decided to visit it an article called, "The Impact of Climate Change on Northern Lights", with information provided by an Icelandic museum called Perlan. And I felt confident in this source because they run their own studies on Aurora Borealis and even have a publicized forecast for the Aurora's. 

In the second paragraph, alone they claim that climate change itself does not have an impact on the Aurora Borealis, but certain results of climate change affects the visibility. The article states that, "...climate change may influence factors like cloud cover and weather patterns, which could affect how often we experience clear nights suitable for viewing the auroras". 

Yes, climate change is the reason why we can't often see Aurora Borealis in our regular night sky, but it's because they are created in the fourth farthest layer in our Earth's atmosphere. Light pollution and smog lies in the troposphere which is closest to us, and 3 layers out where the Auroras are made is the thermosphere. 

So with all that said, yes climate change effects our visibility of Aurora Borealis but climate change does not stop them from being created.

Answer 5

When looking at this comment, it appears as though there is no scientific source to back up this claim, and that it is indeed false. The original author cited a Reddit post, which is notorious for being untrustworthy and not fact-checked. The original post of the website seems to come from a comments section from a social media platform, not from a credible or reputable website or scientific journal.

However, if you do a wider search for scholarly sources on this topic, you will find that this claim is, in fact, false. The reputable source Perlan.is states that "Climate change does not directly affect the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. Auroras occur in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, far beyond the layers impacted by climate change" and "Northern lights, also known as auroras, are a natural phenomenon caused by solar winds. These winds push electrically charged particles, such as electrons, into atoms and molecules in Earth's upper atmosphere, producing the vibrant light displays we see. While solar activity, which drives the northern lights, is not influenced by climate change, other factors like cloud cover and weather patterns can affect the ability to view them." The person who made the original claim may have gotten these two facts confused while making their statement. 

When exploring this source, I discovered that Perlan is a tourist center based in Reykjavik, Iceland. I was unable to find where they were exactly sourcing their information for the article they had published, though I was able to explore the site more. I learned that they are an honored member of Festa, which is a global center for sustainability whose goal is to "have an enriching impact on the environment and society. Festa - Center for Sustainability is a non-governmental organization whose sole interest is sustainability." While it is not a direct quote, it does show where they are basing their information off of, and provides a level of trustworthiness and education to the information found on Perlan.is. Their ethos is strong and well-labeled throughout this article and website. You can also book tours of Iceland and read in-depth articles about the northern lights (aurora borealis) and further educate yourself on all aspects of it.

I did a deep dive on Festa and learned about some of the work that they have done. They have been a "leader in the field of sustainability in Icelandic business since 2011", they are "a bridge builder and guiding light when it comes to increasing knowledge about the sustainability of companies, institutions, and all kinds of organizations", and they raise "awareness in society and encourage collaboration and action in this field. Festa connects different parties: companies, municipalities, institutions, and individuals who want to be leaders in the field of sustainability." All of this information is publicly available on their website and can be proven with a quick Google search, as well as their board of directors and advocates. All of their member associations are also listed out with each name and the year they were associated with. 

Even though it is not scientifically proven that climate change directly affects the aurora borealis, there are definitely certain aspects of it that it can interfere with, such as how much you can see them and when. They aren't going anywhere anytime soon, and that is a fact. The point of Reddit sometimes is to be provocative or misleading, and this can result in the spread of misinformation. This confusion can create unwanted panic and fear, which is why you should never blindly trust it as your main source without doing your own research.

https://www.sjalfbaer.is/festa

https://perlan.is/articles/northern-lights-iceland-months