Why Green Flash Sunset Sightings Are Surging Across Coastal Skies This Winter
By James H. Sterling
The surge in documented flashes across early 2026 stems from a convergence of crisp weather patterns and widespread digital tracking. In December 2025, astrophotographers tracking solar activity at Chile’s Cerro Pachón captured a rare green flash slicing over mountain peaks rather than the ocean. Weeks later, in mid-January 2026, calm coastal winds in Southern California pulled moisture offshore, giving ocean gazers an exceptionally crisp horizon line.
According to data compiled by EarthSky optics specialists, green flash sightings spike when thermal variations between the sea surface and lower atmosphere sharpen. Coastal winter patterns often bring cooler surface currents paired with slightly warmer, drifting air pockets directly overhead. When sunlight punches through hundreds of miles of dense air along the curve of the Earth, that air bends the rays. The result is a brief, glowing emerald rim capping the solar disk just before it slips out of sight.
Social media feeds across San Diego County filled with unedited smartphone clips and high-magnification captures taken from beaches in Del Mar, Encinitas, and Ocean Beach. The consistency of these sightings across several consecutive clear evenings transformed an obscure optical phenomenon into a regional beachside pursuit.
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
