Inner Mongolia, ChinaMagnetic latitude 41.2°Population 265,600303 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Ulanhot?
From Ulanhot the aurora is too low for the naked eye except in the most extreme storms, but in severe storms (about Kp 5.3 or more) cameras record a red glow low in the north. Strong enough for photos on 431 nights since 1995 — most recently on 10 October 2026.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 2.7).
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 3 expected, 5.3 needed here.
- Sky Partly cloudy (74% cloud) — look for gaps.
- Darkness Dark from 18:07 to 05:07.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 3 No · Kp 3
- Sat 17 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- Sun 18 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 20 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 21 3 No · Kp 3
- Thu 22 4 No · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 No · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 No · Kp 3
- Sun 25 2 No · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 No · Kp 2
- Fri 30 2 No · Kp 2
- Sat 31 5 No · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 No · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 No · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 5 2 No · Kp 2
- Fri 6 3 No · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 No · Kp 3
Saturday 17 October — No · Kp 3 · Forecast cloud: 74%. · Reliability: good
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 01:49 local time
Unlikely
Best around 01:00. Forecast max Kp 3.0 (this place needs 9+), average cloud 74%.
- Dark enough
- 18:07 – 05:07
- Sunset
- 17:02 · sunrise 06:12
- Moon
- 32% · ↑ 12:53 · ↓ 19:55
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 9+
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 5.3 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (354°)
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
Seeing it right now?
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What you would see from Ulanhot
Facing north. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Below the horizon | -8° | -6° | 2,369 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -7° | -4° | 2,146 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -6° | -3° | 1,924 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | -4° | -1° | 1,701 km |
| 6 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | -3° | 1° | 1,479 km |
| 7 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | -1° | 3° | 1,257 km |
| 8 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 1° | 6° | 1,034 km |
| 9 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 10° | 812 km |
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 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) camera in Ulanhot 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.
Estimate from NASA VIIRS night-light data (sky-glow model within 50 km). Check access and private land before you go.
Hills and mountains
Terrain is not modelled for this place.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Ulanhot
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
Activity of Kp 9+ or more is too rare here for monthly odds to be meaningful. The table still shows how often nights are clear and dark.
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 0% | 77% | 9.1 h | 8° / 21°C |
| October | 0% | 83% | 10.9 h | -1° / 12°C |
| November | 0% | 78% | 12.0 h | -10° / 0°C |
| December | 0% | 84% | 12.6 h | -19° / -10°C |
| January | 0% | 88% | 12.4 h | -21° / -11°C |
| February | 0% | 88% | 11.4 h | -19° / -6°C |
| March | 0% | 81% | 9.9 h | -9° / 4°C |
| April | 0% | 72% | 7.9 h | -1° / 14°C |
Nights when Ulanhot could catch it in photos
Since 1995, nights with Kp 5.3 or more while it was dark here — a red or green glow low on the horizon.
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.3
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 18 August 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 8 August 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 2 August 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 4 July 2026 · Kp 6.7
- 5 June 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 15 May 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 4 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 3 April 2026 · Kp 6.3
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 22 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Ulanhot Yilelite Airport (HLH) · 14 km
- Typical low / high in January
- -21° / -11°C
- What to wear
- Extreme cold: insulated boots, down jacket, two layers of wool, face protection, chemical hand warmers. Full clothing guide
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Ulanhot?
From Ulanhot the aurora is too low for the naked eye except in the most extreme storms, but in severe storms (about Kp 5.3 or more) cameras record a red glow low in the north.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Ulanhot?
Around Ulanhot the aurora is often right overhead. Start by facing north, but look up and all around — in strong storms it can fill the whole sky and even appear behind you.
When is the aurora season in Ulanhot?
Ulanhot gets dark enough for the aurora all year round, though the long winter nights give the most hours to watch.
Is there much light pollution in Ulanhot?
Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Ulanhot share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Heping 1 km
- Ulanhot Shi 2 km
- Wulanhada 5 km
- Julihen 7 km
- Yilelite 11 km
- Dabagou 13 km
- Yujiadian 16 km
- Shuiquancun 17 km
- Tanyaocun 17 km
- Shuangmiaocun 19 km
- Yongdecun 20 km
- Changqingcun 20 km
- Weidong 21 km
- Xingshuncun 21 km
- Xinqicun 21 km
- Shuangfacun 21 km
- Hulitu 22 km
- Fumincun 22 km
- Hulitucun 22 km
- Tuanjiecun 23 km
- Zhangjiadian 23 km
- Jinlongcun 23 km
- Yulincun 23 km
- Dapaotai 24 km
- Serhen 25 km
- Hulicun 25 km
- Guilincun 25 km
- Manxingcun 25 km
- Fuqiangcun 25 km
- Ma’ancun 25 km
- Qarsan 27 km
- Gegenmiao 27 km
- Baohecun 27 km
- Xinlicun 27 km
- Kangjia Wobu 27 km
- Cha’ersen 28 km
- Dongpingcun 28 km
- Fuquancun 28 km
- Fumaocun 29 km
- Guiler 30 km