Iceland's Capital Goes Dark to Let People Enjoy Northern Lights

Due to a predicted high amount of aurora activity, street and home lighting was switched off for an hour in the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik to allow residents to observe the magnificent aurora borealis.

On Wednesday, Reykjavik's City Council announced that between 10  and 11 p.m., some districts of Reykjavik, including the center, would power down to ensure that this natural phenomenon was more visible to residents of the island nation's capital.

Spectacular #northernlights tonight in #Reykjavik #Iceland 🙌🙌🙌

Фото опубликовано Daði Guðjónsson (@dadigud) Сен 28 2016 в 6:19 PDT

Locals were also asked to switch off their lights at home so as not to ruin the show.

Crazy shit #auroraborealis #northernlights #hallgrimskirkja

Фото опубликовано Freyja Melsted (@freytschi) Сен 28 2016 в 4:23 PDT

Police, firefighters, medics and the power company Reykjavik Energy have all been informed.

What a show tonight! #nordurljos #northernlights pic.twitter.com/3KSvh1EotY

— Arnar Ólafsson (@pollur) 28 сентября 2016 г.

Needless to say, the city's motorists and motorcyclists had to be extremely careful on the road with all the lights switched off.

We heard that the aurora borealis was forecasting a "level 4" above downtown #Reykjavik, so, the city decided to kill all of the street lights starting at 10pm. We dressed warmly, grabbed our gear and headed out. The city was pretty much pitch black, we didn't really know where to go or how to get there, so we just started walking. Eventually a cat came out of the darkness and led us up a path through some trees… when we got to the other side, this is what we found. #thefergsdoiceland #fujifilm #xt1

Фото опубликовано Kyle (@kylefriedman03) Сен 28 2016 в 5:43 PDT

Meanwhile, tourists and locals prepared their cameras, found a comfy seat and got ready for the show to begin.