Why in News?
Earthquake Lights (EQL) are recently in the news following a series of seismic events in the Aegean Sea (near Turkey and Greece) in late March and early April 2026, where rare "glowing vertical beams" and "floating pillars" were captured on social media.
Appearance and Timing
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Forms: Can appear as flashes, glowing spheres, vertical beams, or sheet lightning.
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Colours: Most often white, blue, or iridescent, though multicoloured hues (red, yellow) have been reported in quakes like Morocco (2023).
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Timing: They can occur weeks before, during, or immediately after a quake.
Scientific Causes
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P-Holes (Positive Holes): Intense pressure in the crust breaks "peroxy bonds" in rocks like basalt and gabbro. This releases electrical charges that travel to the surface and ionise the air, creating glowing plasma.
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Piezoelectric Effect: Compression of rocks containing quartz generates powerful electric fields.
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Frictional Discharge: Voltage is generated when tectonic layers rub together, similar to static electricity (triboluminescence).
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Rayleigh Scattering: Recent studies (2025) suggest the blue colour in these flashes is often due to light scattering off nitrogen molecules, similar to why the sky is blue.
Where they Occur?
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Rift Zones: Approximately 97% of cases occur at or near rift zones where tectonic plates are pulling apart.
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Fault Conduits: Straight, vertical faults act like "high-speed conduits" or "express elevators" for the electrical charge to reach the surface.
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Global Hotspots: Frequent sightings occur in Turkey, Japan, Mexico, Italy, and New Zealand.
Potential as Early Warning
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Predictive Value: Because these lights sometimes appear hours or days before the shaking starts, geophysicists hope to use them—in combination with satellite data—as a vital early-warning indicator for impending quakes.
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