Nunavut, CanadaMagnetic latitude 70.7°Population 7,42914 m above sea level
Northern lights in Iqaluit
Iqaluit sits right under the auroral oval: on clear, dark nights the aurora is often overhead, even when activity is quiet. Clouds matter far more than the Kp number here.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 18:53.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Maybe — worth a look
- Solar activity Strong enough: Kp 2.7 expected, 0 needed here.
- Sky Partly cloudy (70% cloud) — look for gaps.
- Darkness Dark from 18:53 to 05:46.
What to do: Go somewhere dark around 01:00, give your eyes 15 minutes to adjust and look north-north-west, low over the horizon.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 2.7 Possible · Kp 2.7
- Sat 17 1.7 Possible · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Sun 18 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Mon 19 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Sun 25 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 Good chance · Kp 3
Friday 16 October — Possible · Kp 2.7 · best around 19:00 · Forecast cloud: 67%. · Reliability: medium
Each box is one night: the colour shows the chance, the number the expected Kp. Tap a night for details.
📅 Add these nights to your calendar — it updates itself (.ics)
How far ahead can the northern lights be forecast?
- Minutes to an hour: satellites 1.5 million km away measure the solar wind before it reaches Earth. This is the surest warning — the “Right now” box uses it.
- 1–3 days: when the Sun throws out a cloud of particles, it takes one to three days to arrive. NOAA's 3-hourly forecast covers these nights; the timing can still be off by a few hours.
- 4–27 days: the Sun turns once every 27 days, and regions that disturbed Earth's field last time often do it again. NOAA's 27-day outlook gives this rough trend — new eruptions are not in it yet.
Tonight
Updated 09:43 local time
Good chance
Best around 01:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 0), average cloud 70%.
- Dark enough
- 18:53 – 05:46
- Sunset
- 17:11 · sunrise 07:29
- Moon
- 31%
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 0
- Look towards
- north-north-west (344°)
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Forecast cloud during tonight's darkness: 67% here. The clearest option within 100 km is about 100 km to the south, with 14%. Open in OpenStreetMap
MET Norway forecast at 24 points within 100 km, averaged over the dark hours. Check roads and conditions before driving.
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Iqaluit
Facing north-north-west. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 2 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 3 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 4 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 5 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 6 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
The Kp scale in plain words
Kp is a 0–9 score for how strongly the Earth's magnetic field is being shaken by the solar wind. The higher it goes, the further from the poles the northern lights reach. Kp 0–2 is a quiet night; Kp 5 and above is a geomagnetic storm.
- Kp 0–2 Quiet eye in Iqaluit Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled next 24 h Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
- Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) Northern England, Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, the US Midwest — often clearer in photos than to the eye.
- Kp 7 Strong storm (G3) Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
- Kp 8 Severe storm (G4) Central Europe to the eye; red sky in photos from northern Italy, Spain, the Balkans and Turkey's Black Sea coast.
- Kp 9 Extreme storm (G5) Seen across Europe and the US; in photos as far south as the Mediterranean, Turkey and North Africa (May 2024).
Light pollution
Suburban sky. Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north-east. Open in OpenStreetMap
Estimate from NASA VIIRS night-light data (sky-glow model within 50 km). Check access and private land before you go.
Hills and mountains
The terrain rises to about 4° above the horizon towards the north-north-west. That hides low aurora: here you need about Kp 0 instead of Kp 0. A hilltop, shore or open field with a clear view to the north-north-west helps.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Iqaluit
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
February has been the best month (76% of nights), followed by January (73%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 37% | 37% | 7.1 h | -3° / 3°C |
| October | 27% | 27% | 10.5 h | -10° / -4°C |
| November | 34% | 34% | 13.3 h | -18° / -12°C |
| December | 63% | 63% | 14.6 h | -25° / -19°C |
| January | 73% | 73% | 13.9 h | -31° / -24°C |
| February | 76% | 76% | 11.5 h | -32° / -24°C |
| March | 71% | 71% | 8.8 h | -27° / -17°C |
| April | 43% | 48% | 4.0 h | -18° / -9°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 28 April to 14 August — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
- Next new moon 9 November, next full moon 26 October. The darkest skies are in the week around new moon.
Aurora nights in Iqaluit since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 7 September 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 1 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 24 March 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 22 March 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
Where to watch near Iqaluit
-
Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park
Territorial park about 1 km west of town with open tundra and views west and south over the river valley. · about 3 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Apex (Niaqunngut)
Small community east of Iqaluit on Frobisher Bay with darker skies and historic Hudson's Bay Company buildings as a foreground. · about 5 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Road to Nowhere
Road leading out of town onto the tundra, a popular local aurora spot when plowed. · about 3 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Qaummaarviit Territorial Park
Island historic park about 12 km away, reached by snowmobile or dog team over the sea ice in winter. · about 12 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut on Frobisher Bay, is reachable only by air and sees auroras on dark, clear nights from roughly September to April.
- Short drives to Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park, Apex or along the Road to Nowhere get you away from most town lights.
- Locals report many of the best displays between about 10 pm and midnight, though the lights can appear any time it is dark.
- Clouds are the main obstacle, so watch cloud cover as closely as geomagnetic activity.
- By April the nights become short and bright, which limits late-season viewing.
Qaummaarviit is reachable only by boat in summer or over sea ice in winter; travel there only with experienced local outfitters.
Before driving the Road to Nowhere at night, make sure it has been plowed and tell someone your plans; winter temperatures and wind chill are extreme.
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Iqaluit Airport (YFB) · 2 km
- Typical low / high in February
- -32° / -24°C
- What to wear
- Extreme cold: insulated boots, down jacket, two layers of wool, face protection, chemical hand warmers. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 911
- Winter driving
- Rules are provincial: Québec requires winter tyres (mountain-snowflake symbol or studded) on Québec-registered vehicles Dec 1–Mar 15, and BC requires winter tyres or chains on signed routes Oct 1–Mar 31 (to Apr 30 on mountain passes/high-snowfall routes); road conditions via 511 Yukon (511yukon.ca), DriveNWT (drivenwt.ca), 511 Alberta, Manitoba 511 (manitoba511.ca) and DriveBC. Road conditions
- Access to land
- There is no national right to roam; private land requires the owner's permission, while national/provincial parks and Crown land are generally accessible subject to park rules, which vary by province and territory.
- Official space-weather service
- Space Weather Canada (Natural Resources Canada)
- Weather service
- Environment and Climate Change Canada (weather.gc.ca)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Iqaluit?
Iqaluit sits right under the auroral oval: on clear, dark nights the aurora is often overhead, even when activity is quiet. Clouds matter far more than the Kp number here.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Iqaluit?
Around Iqaluit the aurora is often right overhead. Start by facing north-north-west, but look up and all around — in strong storms it can fill the whole sky and even appear behind you.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Iqaluit?
Over 2005–2025, February gave the best odds in Iqaluit (76% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by January (73%).
When is the aurora season in Iqaluit?
From 28 April to 14 August the sky in Iqaluit never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Iqaluit?
Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Iqaluit?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Iqaluit on 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0) — 806 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Iqaluit share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Ikaluit 1 km
- Apex 4 km