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Croatia124 places

Northern Lights in Croatia: Where and When to See Them

From Croatia the aurora is mostly a camera sight: in severe storms (about Kp 5 or more) a red glow rises low over the horizon, as it did in May and October 2024.

Where the aurora is easiest to see

PlaceRegionKp neededKp for photosMagnetic latitude
Varaždin CountyVaraždin County9+5.341.7°
BjelovarBjelovar-Bilogora County9+5.341.2°
KoprivnicaKoprivnica-Križevci County9+5.341.5°
ČakovecMeđimurje County9+5.341.8°
ViroviticaVirovitica-Podravina County9+5.341.2°
KriževciKoprivnica-Križevci County9+5.341.3°
KrapinaKrapina-Zagorje County9+5.341.5°
ZagrebGrad Zagreb9+5.741.1°

Largest cities

PlacePopulationKp needed
Zagreb663,5929+
Split149,8309+
Rijeka107,9649+
Osijek75,5359+
Zadar67,3099+
Sesvete55,3139+
Slavonski Brod45,0059+
Karlovac41,8699+

Storm watch: can you see the northern lights from Croatia?

Rarely, but yes. In strong storms (about Kp 5.3 or more) the red upper layer of the aurora, 300–400 km up, rises above the northern horizon of Croatia. Phone and camera sensors pick it up far more easily than the eye.

…

PlaceKp for photosKp for the eyePhoto nights since 1995Last time
Varaždin County 5.3 9+ 505 Oct 2026
Bjelovar 5.3 9+ 503 Oct 2026
Koprivnica 5.3 9+ 504 Oct 2026
Čakovec 5.3 9+ 504 Oct 2026
Virovitica 5.3 9+ 500 Oct 2026
Križevci 5.3 9+ 505 Oct 2026
Krapina 5.3 9+ 506 Oct 2026
Zagreb 5.7 9+ 350 Oct 2026
Osijek 5.7 9+ 352 Oct 2026
Sesvete 5.7 9+ 351 Oct 2026
Karlovac 5.7 9+ 350 Oct 2026
Velika Gorica 5.7 9+ 351 Oct 2026

When it was last seen from Croatia

Nights with enough activity for photos from Varaždin County during darkness (Kp 5.3 or more):

  • 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.0
  • 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.7
  • 18 August 2026 · Kp 5.3
  • 8 August 2026 · Kp 5.7
  • 3 July 2026 · Kp 5.3
  • 15 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
  • 4 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
  • 3 April 2026 · Kp 5.7
  • 22 March 2026 · Kp 6.7
  • 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0

How to catch it from Croatia

  1. Watch the forecast: you need about Kp 5.3 or more — a strong to severe storm. These arrive a day or two after a big eruption on the Sun, so there is usually some warning.
  2. Get away from city lights and find an open view to the north: a coast, a hill or a field. The glow sits low over the horizon.
  3. Use your phone's night mode or a camera on a tripod (3–15 s). Check the photo: a red or pink sky to the north is the aurora.
  4. The best hours are usually 22:00–02:00 local time, but in big storms it can start right after dusk.
  1. Kp 0–2 Quiet Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
  2. Kp 3 Unsettled Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
  3. Kp 4 Active Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
  4. Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) camera in Varaždin County Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
  5. Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) Northern England, Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, the US Midwest — often clearer in photos than to the eye.
  6. Kp 7 Strong storm (G3) Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
  7. 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.
  8. 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).

Live sightings

Where visitors are reporting the aurora right now. A place climbs with every report and drops again as the reports age.

  1. …

    Regions of Croatia