Norrbotten County, SwedenMagnetic latitude 64.5°Population 10,362363 m above sea level
Northern lights in Gällivare
Gällivare 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 19:00.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Yes — good chance tonight
- Solar activity Strong enough: Kp 2.7 expected, 0 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (6% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:00 to 05:46.
What to do: Go somewhere dark around 01:00, give your eyes 15 minutes to adjust and look north, low over the horizon.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 2.7 Good chance · Kp 2.7
- Sat 17 1.7 Good chance · Kp 1.7
- Sun 18 1.7 Good chance · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Possible · 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
Saturday 17 October — Good chance · Kp 2.7 · best around 00:30 · Forecast cloud: 6%. · 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 15:43 local time
Excellent chance
Best around 01:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 0), average cloud 6%.
- Dark enough
- 19:00 – 05:46
- Sunset
- 17:03 · sunrise 07:44
- 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 (356°)
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Tonight's cloud forecast is similar in every direction within 100 km (6% 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 Gällivare
Facing north. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Visible to the north | 24° | 41° | 222 km |
| 2 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 3 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 4 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 5 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 6 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
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 Gällivare 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
Bright suburban sky. Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
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 horizon towards the north is open (terrain below 1.9°), so low aurora is not blocked.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Gällivare
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
March has been the best month (46% of nights), followed by September (40%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 40% | 40% | 6.4 h | 4° / 10°C |
| October | 31% | 31% | 10.5 h | -2° / 2°C |
| November | 32% | 32% | 13.6 h | -10° / -5°C |
| December | 24% | 24% | 15.1 h | -13° / -8°C |
| January | 31% | 31% | 14.5 h | -16° / -10°C |
| February | 33% | 33% | 11.5 h | -15° / -9°C |
| March | 46% | 46% | 8.0 h | -12° / -4°C |
| April | 23% | 50% | 1.9 h | -6° / 0°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 Gällivare since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 3 April 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 22 March 2026 · Kp 6.7
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 13 March 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 3 March 2026 · Kp 5.0
Where to watch near Gällivare
-
Dundret summit
The 820 m top of the nature reserve has wide views and is a recommended place for aurora watching on clear nights. · about 10 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Top of Dundret ski area (Fjällstugan)
The upper area of the ski resort looks out over the valley, well above the town lights. · about 12 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Västtoppen (Dundret west summit)
A marked viewpoint on Dundret's western summit with wide views over the mountains in clear weather. Reach it on foot from the nearest road. · about 10 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Porjus
A small hydropower village between two national parks, with very little light pollution. · about 48 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Dundret's summit, about 820 m above sea level, is only about 5 km from Gällivare, and on clear evenings it is a good place for stars and the northern lights.
- In summer a winding road off the E45 goes to the top of Dundret, but in winter it becomes a ski track. The ski resort's season runs from late October to early May.
- Gällivare is about 60 km north of the Arctic Circle, at the northern end of the Inlandsbanan railway and on the Malmbanan iron-ore line.
- Gällivare Lapland Airport is about 9 km from town by road.
- Winter temperatures can swing from −30 °C to 0 °C within a day or two, so check the forecast every day.
The summer road up Dundret is a ski track in winter, so do not try to drive it. Walk up or use the ski area's facilities, and check their opening hours.
The exposed top is often windy and much colder than the valley, so bring windproof layers and a headlamp for the way down.
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Gällivare Airport (GEV) · 7 km
Kiruna Airport (KRN) · 78 km - Typical low / high in March
- -12° / -4°C
- What to wear
- Arctic cold: wool base layers, insulated jacket and trousers, warm boots, hat and mittens. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 112
- Winter driving
- From 1 December to 31 March, cars must use winter tyres (Alpine-marked or studded) with at least 3 mm of tread whenever winter road conditions apply. Studded tyres are allowed from 1 October to 15 April, and at other times when winter conditions apply or are expected. Trafikverket runs the road traffic information service. Road conditions
- Access to land
- Allemansrätten lets anyone walk and stay temporarily on others' land, including pitching a tent for a night or two, provided you don't disturb and don't destroy. It does not cover gardens next to homes, crops or grazing land, or motorised off-road driving. National parks and nature reserves can have stricter rules.
- Official space-weather service
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF), Kiruna: all-sky camera and IRF Aurora Alert app
- Weather service
- SMHI (Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Gällivare?
Gällivare 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 Gällivare?
Face north (about 356° from true north). At Kp 0 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 24° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Gällivare?
Over 2005–2025, March gave the best odds in Gällivare (46% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by September (40%).
When is the aurora season in Gällivare?
From 18 April to 25 August the sky in Gällivare never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Gällivare?
Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
When was the aurora last possible in Gällivare?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Gällivare on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0) — 774 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Gällivare share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Nenäsvaara 14 km
- Sakajärvi 15 km
- Sjungberget 17 km
- Liikavaara 18 km
- Keskijärvi 25 km
- Leipojärvi 26 km
- Tidnokenttä 27 km
- Nuortikon 29 km
- Mettä Dokkas 29 km
- Purnuvaara 30 km
- Björkberget 30 km
- Sadjem 32 km
- Kaartijärvi 32 km
- Dokkas 32 km
- Alavaara 32 km
- Ampiaslanto 34 km
- Rutna 36 km
- Ratukkavaara 36 km
- Kilvoby 37 km
- Pikkujaakko 39 km
- Purnu 40 km
- Palohuornas 40 km