Latest news with #Rovaniemi
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Travel + Leisure
30-05-2025
- General
- Travel + Leisure
These 3 European Cities Are Tied for the Longest Daylight Hours in June
Ever wish your vacation days could last just a little longer? Then you may want to book your next getaway to a spot with 24-hour sunshine. In May, Monteriver, a river tour company, released its findings of a new study analyzing the European cities with the longest daylight hours in June. To find out which spots have the longest days, it analyzed data from Astropixels and Time&Date. It found that three destinations experience 24-hour daylight in June: Murmansk in Russia, Bodø in Norway, and Rovaniemi in Finland. This natural phenomenon is known as the "Midnight Sun" and occurs in regions north of the Arctic Circle each summer, where the sun never dips below the horizon line. As explains, it's caused by the "Earth's axial tilt as the planet orbits the sun." This tilt, it says, "causes one hemisphere to be angled toward the sun and the other away from it, and it is why there are opposite seasons in the Northern and Southern hemispheres." During the June solstice, the North Pole is tilted toward the sun. "From the northern polar region, the sun never appears to set below the horizon. This is when the northern polar region experiences the midnight sun and the southern polar region experiences 24 hours of darkness, known as the polar night," adds. And while, yes, it can be a bit disorienting for those not used to it, it's also a major tourism draw for those looking to squeeze every last drop out of a summer adventure. In Bodø, Norway, that extra light means more time exploring some of Scandinavia's most dramatic natural spaces. Travelers here can also go on a short drive to Saltstraumen to view the world's strongest tidal current. Travelers can also hike the Børvasstindan mountains for spectacular views or simply bask in the sun at 3 a.m. just because they can. In Rovaniemi, Finland, also known as the official hometown of Santa Claus, travelers can bike through its forest trails, go foraging for wild berries, or hang out by the serene Kemijoki River. Locals also love a good sauna followed by refreshing dips in cool water, and welcome guests to try it out for themselves, too. It's worth noting that Murmansk, Russia, the largest city located entirely within the Arctic Circle, also experiences 24-hour sun; however, the U.S. Department of State has all of Russia under a level 4 "Do Not Travel" advisory, making travel here impractical and potentially dangerous, for now. And while they don't experience that same round-the-clock sun, hot spots like Reykjavik, Iceland, also made the list, with 21 hours and eight minutes of sun, along with Helsinki at 18 hours and 55 minutes, and Oslo closely behind at 18 hours and 49 minutes. On the flip side, sun-soaked southern favorites like Athens and Madrid, despite being well-known for their summer heat, ranked as the last two on the list, as Madrid receives just over 15 hours of daylight and Athens receives just 14 hours and 48 minutes of daylight.
Arab News
24-05-2025
- General
- Arab News
Growing Arctic military presence worries Finland's reindeer herders
ROVANIEMI, Finland: A fighter jet roaring through the grey sky breaks the tranquility of a boreal forest in northern Finland, one more sign of a growing military presence that is challenging the ability of reindeer herders to exercise their livelihood. 'Military activity has increased massively here since Finland joined NATO,' reindeer herder Kyosti Uutela said on a tour in Rovajarvi, the largest artillery practice range in western Europe, on a day when no ground exercises were underway. Located 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the Russian border, Rovajarvi covers an area of 1,070 square kilometers on land that also makes up part of the reindeer husbandry district that Uutela heads. Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, dropped decades of military non-alignment to join NATO in 2023 in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. And in 2024, a defense cooperation agreement between the United States and Finland came into force. 'Training activities and exercises have increased since the beginning of the war in Ukraine' because of the worsened security situation, the Finnish Defense Forces told AFP in a statement. 'This is naturally also reflected in Rovajarvi,' it said, saying the firing range provided unique training possibilities for international troops thanks to its size, terrain and seasonal changes. Last year, Finland participated in 103 military exercises at home and abroad, up from 89 in 2023. Ascending a small hill where the forest has been clear-cut and trenches dug for training purposes, Uutela said the spot 'had been lost' as a grazing ground. 'The use of heavy army tanks and the presence of thousands of soldiers in the forest destroy the lichen pastures,' Uutela said, referring to the reindeer's main source of food. 'Reindeer will not be able to live here anymore,' he said. Finland has 4,305 reindeer owners and around 184,000 reindeer, living in 57 reindeer husbandry districts that cover 36 percent of the country's total area. A part of them belong to the indigenous Sami population that lives in Sapmi, which straddles northern regions of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia. The non-Sami people such as Uutela who also practice reindeer husbandry include herders living near the Rovajarvi range, outside the Sapmi homeland. Full-time herders sell reindeer meat, pelts and handicrafts as their main source of income, and husbandry has been an integral part of the indigenous Sami culture for generations. Riikka Poropudas, another herder in Rovajarvi, said the military presence in the area had increased 'radically' since Finland's NATO accession, forcing herders to feed their reindeer in fenced areas more often than before. Finland's Defense Forces said the needs of reindeer husbandry were 'taken into account in the planning of exercises, for example in terms of the times and locations,' adding that they were in daily contact with Rovajarvi herders. But Poropudas worries that a large live-fire and combat exercise involving around 6,500 soldiers from Finland, Sweden and Britain this month would disturb her reindeer. The calving season is at its busiest in mid-May. 'The activities stress both female reindeer and newborn calves, and drive them away from their natural pastures,' she said. Tuomas Aslak Juuso, acting president of the Sami parliament in Finland, said climate change and land use changes – including the militarization of the Arctic – posed special challenges for the roughly 1,200 Sami reindeer herders in Finland. 'Our way of reindeer husbandry depends fully on the herding model and the reindeer being able to graze freely on natural pasture lands,' he said. But the effects of climate change on winter conditions already mean that herders increasingly have to provide their reindeer with supplementary feed 'in order to avoid mass deaths.' A large international military exercise conducted in Finnish Sapmi in 2023 had been 'quite a negative experience for the Sami people,' Juuso said. 'The local reindeer herders had not been informed beforehand, grazing conditions for that spring were damaged and tractors damaged the lichen cover, which may never grow back,' he said. 'When these things are planned, there should be early consultation with the Sami and responsibility for damage and harm.'
South China Morning Post
07-05-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
Finnish fighter jet crashes in Arctic town, pilot ejected
A Finnish F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet crashed on Wednesday near the Rovaniemi airport in Finland's Arctic north, but the pilot was rescued after ejecting, the armed forces said. Advertisement The crash occurred 'in the Rovaniemi airport area' around 11am, the military said in a statement. 'The aircraft crashed during a rehearsal for an air show,' Timo Herranen, commander of the Finnish Air Force, told AFP. Herranen said 'the pilot luckily was able to eject from the aircraft' and had only sustained 'mild injuries'. Herranen did not wish to comment on a possible reason for the accident 'at this stage' and said an investigation was under way. Rescue personnel and vehicles work at the site where the jet crashed. Photo: via AP According to the military, there were 'no injuries on the ground'.
Malay Mail
07-05-2025
- General
- Malay Mail
Finnish Air Force jet crashes near Rovaniemi airport; pilot ejects safely, taken to hospital
HELSINKI, May 7 — A fighter jet belonging to the Finnish Air Force crashed near an airport in northern Finland today, the country's military said, adding that the pilot had ejected from the aircraft and was taken to hospital. Smoke was seen rising from the general direction of where the aircraft went down and there was a strong smell of smoke in the air, public broadcaster Yle reported. The area was cordoned off by local police. 'An F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet plunged to the ground in the Rovaniemi airport area,' the Air Force said in a statement. It later added that the pilot had been taken to a medical facility to be examined and that no one had been injured on the ground. The Rovaniemi airport remained open, its operator separately said. Finland has 62 Hornet fighter jets bought between 1992 and 2000. The Nordic country in 2021 decided to replace them with Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters. — Reuters
Al Arabiya
07-05-2025
- Al Arabiya
Fighter jet crashes in Finland, pilot ejects
A fighter jet belonging to the Finnish Air Force crashed in northern Finland on Wednesday, the country's military said, adding that the pilot had ejected from the aircraft and had been located. 'An F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet plunged to the ground in the Rovaniemi airport area,' the Air Force said in a statement. Finland has 62 Hornet fighter jets bought between 1992 and 2000. The Nordic country in 2021 decided to replace them with Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters.
