Northern Lights glow up skies across UK and around the world – see best pictures here

Skies over the UK were turned shades of pink and green as the Northern Lights produced incredible displays for skygazers.

The impressive Aurora Borealis, usually only visible from northern parts of the British Isles, was visible across large parts of the UK overnight, including Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and, unusually, southern England.

The display was triggered after America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued its first severe solar storm warning since 2005 yesterday as a huge geomagnetic storm raced towards Earth.

The NOAA said the G5 geomagnetic storm, which is considered extreme and is the strongest level of geomagnetic storm, hit Earth on Thursday and brought with it the risk of affecting communications, GPS and power grids.

Aurora displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere around the magnetic poles.

The incredible display was also spotted across the northern US, Canada, Ireland and Northern Europe.

Chris Snell, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “It is hard to fully predict what will happen in the Earth’s atmosphere, but there will still be enhanced solar activity tonight, so the lights could be visible again in northern parts of the UK, including Scotland, Northern Ireland and the far north of England.”

Here are some of the best pictures overnight from across the UK

And, here are some pictures of the display last night from across the world