Residents of the very far north of Finland are now again experiencing "nightless nights", the time of the year when the sun circles the sky, not setting at all for the next 10 weeks.

South of Utsjoki in somewhat more densely-populated Sodankylä the white nights will arrive in about two weeks.

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In theory, the period of round-the-clock sun in the North is restricted only to regions above the Arctic Circle. In practice, the refraction of light by the earth's atmosphere scatters the midnight sun to areas as far as Kemi, around 100km further south, where for at least one day a year the sun seemingly does not set.

For the next few days, however, the weather in Utsjoki will not be ideal for midnight sun-watchers. Cloudy skies are in the forecast for Wednesday through next Monday.