Qinghai, ChinaMagnetic latitude 32.4°Population 2,467,9652,275 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Xining?
The aurora is practically never visible from Xining. At 32.4° magnetic latitude, even the strongest storms rarely reach this far from the poles.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 1.7).
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 2.7 expected, 9+ needed here.
- Sky Overcast (83% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:30 to 06:26.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 2.7 No · Kp 2.7
- 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 2.7 · Forecast cloud: 83%. · 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 03:11 local time
Unlikely
Best around 03:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 9+), average cloud 83%.
- Dark enough
- 19:30 – 06:26
- Sunset
- 18:34 · sunrise 07:22
- Moon
- 33% · ↑ 13:36 · ↓ 22:02
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 9+
- Look towards
- north (358°)
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
Seeing it right now?
Tell others in Qinghai. Reports from real visitors move a place up the live ranking.
Reports are anonymous: we do not store your IP address or location. One report per place every few hours.
What you would see from Xining
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 | -13° | -12° | 3,347 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -12° | -11° | 3,125 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -11° | -9° | 2,902 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | -10° | -8° | 2,680 km |
| 6 | Below the horizon | -9° | -7° | 2,458 km |
| 7 | Below the horizon | -7° | -5° | 2,235 km |
| 8 | Below the horizon | -6° | -4° | 2,013 km |
| 9 | Below the horizon | -5° | -2° | 1,790 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) 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
City sky. City lights hide all but the brightest displays. Plan to leave the urban area.
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 Xining
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% | 47% | 9.6 h | 4° / 16°C |
| October | 0% | 65% | 10.9 h | -2° / 11°C |
| November | 0% | 86% | 11.8 h | -8° / 4°C |
| December | 0% | 92% | 12.1 h | -14° / -1°C |
| January | 0% | 84% | 11.9 h | -15° / -1°C |
| February | 0% | 72% | 11.0 h | -13° / 2°C |
| March | 0% | 62% | 10.3 h | -7° / 7°C |
| April | 0% | 55% | 8.9 h | -3° / 12°C |
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Xining Caojiabao International Airport (XNN) · 27 km
- Typical low / high in January
- -15° / -1°C
- What to wear
- Arctic cold: wool base layers, insulated jacket and trousers, warm boots, hat and mittens. Full clothing guide
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Xining?
The aurora is practically never visible from Xining. At 32.4° magnetic latitude, even the strongest storms rarely reach this far from the poles.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Xining?
Around Xining 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 Xining?
Xining 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 Xining?
City lights hide all but the brightest displays. Plan to leave the urban area.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Xining share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Chengxi Qu 1 km
- Chengbei Qu 3 km
- Chengzhong Qu 7 km
- Ershilipu 9 km
- Chengdong Qu 11 km
- Zongzhai 12 km
- Houzihe 13 km
- Haizigou 14 km
- Tianjiazhai 19 km
- Huangzhong Xian 19 km
- Xishan 19 km
- Duoba 20 km
- Hongshuiquan 21 km
- Gaozhai 22 km
- Xiaoxia 22 km
- Lushar 23 km
- Jingyang 23 km
- Changning 23 km
- Caojiapu 25 km
- Ganhetan 26 km
- Lijiashan 27 km
- Sanhe 27 km
- Huangjiazhai 27 km
- Shangxinzhuang 29 km
- Shihuiyao 29 km
- Wufeng 29 km
- Taktser 29 km
- Chamalung 30 km
- Beihe 30 km
- Lanlongkou 30 km
- Weiyuan 33 km
- Ping’an Xian 33 km
- Sitai 33 km
- Qiaotou 35 km
- Xining Shi 36 km
- Ping’an 36 km
- Sangshige 37 km
- Gucheng 37 km
- Shangwuzhuang 39 km
- Huzhu Tuzu Zizhixian 39 km