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Southern Lights in Canterbury Region, New Zealand

In Canterbury Region the aurora is visible from about Kp 5.3, first near Timaru. Lake Tekapo has the darkest skies among the larger places.

Next chance in Canterbury Region

Sunday 25 October, around 00:30

Photos only · Timaru · Reliability: low (rough trend)

Weather in Canterbury Region

General forecast for Timaru, the main town in Canterbury Region. Tonight's cloud cover for every town is on its aurora page.

Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Timaru on Atlas of Seasons.

PlaceKp neededKp for photosLook towardsLight pollutionPopulation
Timaru 5.7 4 SSW Bright suburban sky 29,300
Lake Tekapo 5.7 4 SSW Pristine dark sky –
Christchurch 6 4.3 SSW City sky 419,200
Rolleston 6 4.3 SSW Rural to suburban 34,100
Ashburton 6 4.3 SSW Dark rural sky 21,600
Halswell 6 4.3 SSW Rural to suburban 13,620
Wigram 6 4.3 SSW Bright suburban sky 12,270
Rangiora 6.3 4.7 SSW Rural to suburban 19,300

Best months in Canterbury Region

Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.

May has been the best month (2% of nights), followed by September (2%).

0%10% January: 1% Jan February: 0% Feb March: 1% Mar April: 1% Apr May: 2% May June: 1% Jun July: 1% Jul August: 1% Aug September: 2% Sept October: 1% Oct November: 0% Nov December: 0% Dec
All years Near solar maximum Near solar minimum
  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 camera in Timaru Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
  4. Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
  5. Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) eye in Timaru 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).

The town pages in this region also cover 151 villages and districts nearby.

Smaller places