Red sprites spotted again in the skies over Cyprus

One of the rarest atmospheric phenomena — red sprites, electrical flashes occurring high above thunderstorm clouds — has been recorded again over Cyprus. This time, the phenomenon was captured by Cypriot photographer Georgios Paraskevidis, who shared the images on social media.

The flashes were observed at great altitudes — from 40 to 90 kilometers above the Earth's surface, in the mesosphere. Red sprites are short-lived electrical discharges caused by powerful lightning, especially positive cloud-to-ground strikes. The duration of the phenomenon is only a few milliseconds, making it extremely difficult to see with the naked eye.

According to astronomers and members of the Greek storm observation group led by Christos Doudulakis, sprites appear during periods of intense thunderstorm activity when nitrogen in the upper atmosphere becomes ionized. This produces bright vertical or thread-like flashes colored in red and purple. In this case, the thunderstorm front was located 50 to 800 kilometers from the observation point, which is typical for sprite formation.

Photography was conducted under low light pollution, allowing weak flashes to be captured. Observations show that sprites most often appear during storms with strong lightning and become more visible as storm clouds approach the coast.

Similar phenomena have been recorded over Cyprus before. In September 2024, dozens of sprites were observed over the sea between Cyprus and Turkey, also captured by astrophotographers. Scientists note that modern photographic technology and more frequent storm systems in the eastern Mediterranean have made it easier to observe sprites than in the past.

Meteorologists remind that red sprites can only be seen at night, at a considerable distance from the thunderstorm front, under clear weather and minimal light pollution.