Qeqqata, GreenlandMagnetic latitude 71.3°103 m above sea level
Northern lights in Kangerlussuaq
Kangerlussuaq 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 20:45.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Strong enough: Kp 2.7 expected, 0 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (98% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 20:45 to 07:32.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- 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 Possible · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Good chance · 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 Good chance · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Good chance · 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
Tuesday 20 October — Possible · Kp 2 · best around 01:30 · Forecast cloud: 84%. · Reliability: low (rough trend)
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 12:45 local time
Unlikely
Best around 00:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 0), average cloud 98%.
- Dark enough
- 20:45 – 07:32
- Sunset
- 18:48 · sunrise 09:30
- 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 (340°)
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Tonight's cloud forecast is similar in every direction within 100 km (98% here), so driving is unlikely to help.
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 Kangerlussuaq
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 Kangerlussuaq 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
Pristine dark sky. Almost no artificial light: faint aurora and the Milky Way are easy to see.
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 Kangerlussuaq
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
March has been the best month (54% of nights), followed by February (47%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 39% | 39% | 6.4 h | -3° / 5°C |
| October | 38% | 38% | 10.5 h | -10° / -3°C |
| November | 36% | 36% | 13.6 h | -16° / -10°C |
| December | 39% | 39% | 15.1 h | -20° / -13°C |
| January | 42% | 42% | 14.5 h | -22° / -15°C |
| February | 47% | 47% | 11.5 h | -23° / -16°C |
| March | 54% | 54% | 8.0 h | -21° / -11°C |
| April | 22% | 45% | 1.9 h | -13° / -4°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 18 April to 25 August — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
- Midnight sun from 2 June to 10 July.
- Next new moon 9 November, next full moon 26 October. The darkest skies are in the week around new moon.
Aurora nights in Kangerlussuaq since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 24 March 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 22 March 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 13 March 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 3 March 2026 · Kp 5.0
Where to watch near Kangerlussuaq
-
Kellyville (Sondrestrom research facility area)
Small research settlement west of town, away from the airport lights. · about 12 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Russell Glacier
Ice-sheet outlet glacier east of town, a dramatic dark foreground reached by guided tour. · about 25 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Point 660 (ice sheet)
Edge of the Greenland ice sheet reachable by road, with no artificial light at all. · about 35 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Kangerlussuaq's stable continental climate is credited with around 300 clear nights a year, making it one of Greenland's best aurora locations.
- The aurora can be seen from the settlement itself, though guides drive out for darker skies.
- Greenland's aurora season runs from about September to early April; the midnight sun makes it impossible in summer.
- Displays in Greenland often peak around midnight.
- An upper-atmosphere research station near Kellyville has studied the aurora here for over 30 years.
Winter temperatures in Kangerlussuaq can drop below -30 °C; frostbite is a real risk on long aurora vigils.
Never approach glacier fronts such as Russell Glacier; calving ice is unpredictable.
Tours to Point 660 are typically offered March to October; in the dark season travel beyond town with a licensed guide.
Practical information
- Typical low / high in March
- -21° / -11°C
- What to wear
- Extreme cold: insulated boots, down jacket, two layers of wool, face protection, chemical hand warmers. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 112
- Winter driving
- There are no roads connecting towns in Greenland (only within and around settlements, plus a few tracks to sheep farms in South Greenland), so aurora trips are on foot, by tour vehicle, snowmobile or dog sled from town; no national road-conditions service applies.
- Access to land
- There is no privately owned land in Greenland and the backcountry is unrestricted, so you may roam and camp freely as long as you keep away from houses; exceptions are protected areas (e.g. Taseralik in Ilulissat) and Northeast Greenland National Park, which requires a permit from the Greenland Government.
- Weather service
- DMI (Danish Meteorological Institute) – Greenland
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Kangerlussuaq?
Kangerlussuaq 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 Kangerlussuaq?
Around Kangerlussuaq 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 Kangerlussuaq?
Over 2005–2025, March gave the best odds in Kangerlussuaq (54% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by February (47%).
When is the aurora season in Kangerlussuaq?
From 18 April to 25 August the sky in Kangerlussuaq never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Kangerlussuaq?
Almost no artificial light: faint aurora and the Milky Way are easy to see.
When was the aurora last possible in Kangerlussuaq?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Kangerlussuaq on 10 October 2026 (Kp 5.7) — 772 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Kangerlussuaq share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Camp Lloyd 11 km