Will I see the northern lights in London tonight?
Probably not
Clouds and quiet aurora activity (Kp 3.0 forecast, 9 needed here) both work against you tonight.
Hour by hour tonight
Loading tonight's hours…
Times are local (Europe/London). Only hours with the sun below −6° are shown. Kp forecast: NOAA SWPC. Clouds: MET Norway.
Planning a trip to London?
Auroras in London need a geomagnetic storm (about Kp 9). In 2015–2025 that lined up with a clear, dark sky on one night in 11 years, so treat a sighting here as a bonus, not a plan.
Every night you could have seen them, 2015–2025
One night in 11 years was clear and dark in London while auroras reached far enough, by our estimate from NASA cloud data and the Kp record. It was 10 May 2024 (Kp 9).
- 10 May Kp 9
A "night you could have seen them" = at least one hour that was dark, mostly clear and with Kp at or above the Kp 9 that London needs. Look north, low on the horizon, away from town lights: the northern lights here are usually a glow that a phone camera picks up better than your eyes.
Better odds nearby
Places within 700 km of London with more good nights a year.
London northern lights: questions
Rarely. London sits at 47.5° magnetic latitude, so auroras need about Kp 9, which means a geomagnetic storm. Our record (2015–2025) shows one night in 11 years with a clear, dark sky and auroras strong enough to see.
There is no reliable season: auroras this far south come with strong geomagnetic storms, which can happen in any dark month. Watch the live forecast and the Kp index instead of planning a trip around them.
About Kp 9. We worked that out from London's magnetic latitude (47.5°) with a rule calibrated against the Finnish Meteorological Institute's sighting statistics. Look north, low on the horizon, away from town lights.
Every 10 minutes we take NOAA's Kp forecast and MET Norway's hourly cloud forecast for London, add the sun and moon, and score each hour of tonight. The verdict is the best hour. How it works explains the calibration.