China's northernmost city of Mohe in Heilongjiang Province has been treated to a spectacular natural display of stunning northern lights, or aurora borealis, triggered by a powerful geomagnetic storm in the past few days.
The aurora first appeared on Sunday evening and continued through the early hours of Monday morning, painting the night sky with mesmerizing hues of green, red, and purple. On Monday night, the celestial show reached new heights as the brilliant aurora was framed by the dazzling Perseid meteor shower.
"The bottom part of the aurora was green, above which the lights gradually turned pink, purple, and red - it was absolutely breathtaking. I'm so lucky and excited to witness this," said a tourist.
"It's really rare to see the aurora alongside the Big Dipper and shooting stars. I couldn't help but jump up and down and scream in excitement," said another.
The aurora borealis is caused by the collision of charged particles directed by the Earth's magnetic field. The phenomenon is observable in areas close to the Earth's north pole, making the northernmost Chinese city the best place in the country to observe the natural wonder.
Stunning aurora borealis, shooting stars seen in northeast China's Mohe
Stunning aurora borealis, shooting stars seen in northeast China's Mohe
Stunning aurora borealis, shooting stars seen in northeast China's Mohe
The Trump administration's decision to impose "reciprocal tariffs" on all trade partners has sparked panic among investors, sending all three major U.S. stock indices into sharp declines on Thursday, with European stock markets also seeing significant losses, while the U.S. Dollar Index dropped substantially.
As of the close on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1,679.39 points to 40,545.93, down 3.98 percent, marking its largest single-day decline since June 2020.
The S and P 500 lost 274.45 points to settle at 5,396.52 points, a 4.84 percent decrease, its biggest drop since June 2020. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1,050.44 points to 16,550.61 points, down 5.97 percent, marking its largest single-day fall since March 2020.
The sell-off was widespread, with key individual stocks also taking a hit. Nike saw a steep 14 percent drop in its share price, while Apple fell by 9 percent. Bank stocks were under heavy pressure, with Western Alliance Bank dropping nearly 16 percent, Citigroup losing about 12 percent, and Bank of America slipping 11 percent.
In the small-cap segment, the Russell 2000 Index saw a notable decline of more than 6 percent. Compared to its peak in November of last year, the index has now dropped over 20 percent, entering a technical bear market.
This marks a stark contrast to the surge seen after the U.S. presidential election, when small-cap stocks were seen as beneficiaries of deregulation, tax cuts, and tariffs.
UBS analysts warned of the potential long-term economic consequences of the tariffs, suggesting that if they persist, inflation could rise sharply, severely impacting the macroeconomy, and potentially leading to significant deterioration in both U.S. and global economic growth and inflation over the next year.
The firm's U.S. economic team estimates that real GDP could decline by 1.5 to 2 percentage points in 2025, with inflation possibly reaching 5 percent.
Meanwhile, European markets followed suit, with all three major stock indices experiencing losses. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index closed at 8,474.74 points, down 133.74 points, or 1.55 percent, from the previous trading day. The French CAC40 dropped by 259.85 points to 7,598.98 points, a 3.31 percent decrease. In Germany, the DAX Index closed at 21,717.39 points, down 673.45 points, a 3.01 percent drop.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against six key currencies, including the euro and the British pound, dropped 1.67 percent to 102.073, while the euro and pound both strengthened as investors sought safer assets amid rising market volatility.
US tariff moves trigger market panic, major indices suffer sharp losses
