Northern lights in Reykjavik
Current conditions for Reykjavik, the latitude maths behind them and where to stand.
Kp index now
1.67Quiet
Aurora chance in Reykjavik
9%
Cloud cover
94%Mostly cloudy
Sky
Dark enough
Reykjavik is inside the oval even at Kp 0.
Next 36 hours in Reykjavik
- Fri 16 Oct, 23:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sat 17 Oct, 00:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sat 17 Oct, 01:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sat 17 Oct, 02:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sat 17 Oct, 03:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sat 17 Oct, 04:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sat 17 Oct, 05:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sat 17 Oct, 06:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sat 17 Oct, 07:00: Too light
- Sat 17 Oct, 08:00: Too light
- Sat 17 Oct, 09:00: Too light
- Sat 17 Oct, 10:00: Too light
- Sat 17 Oct, 11:00: Too light
- Sat 17 Oct, 12:00: Too light
- Sat 17 Oct, 13:00: Too light
- Sat 17 Oct, 14:00: Too light
- Sat 17 Oct, 15:00: Too light
- Sat 17 Oct, 16:00: Too light
- Sat 17 Oct, 17:00: Too light
- Sat 17 Oct, 18:00: Too light
- Sat 17 Oct, 19:00: Too light
- Sat 17 Oct, 20:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sat 17 Oct, 21:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sat 17 Oct, 22:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sat 17 Oct, 23:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sun 18 Oct, 00:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sun 18 Oct, 01:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sun 18 Oct, 02:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sun 18 Oct, 03:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sun 18 Oct, 04:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sun 18 Oct, 05:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sun 18 Oct, 06:00: Dark but cloudy
- Sun 18 Oct, 07:00: Too light
- Sun 18 Oct, 08:00: Too light
- Sun 18 Oct, 09:00: Too light
- Sun 18 Oct, 10:00: Too light
- Dark, clear, Kp high enough
- Dark and clear, Kp too low
- Dark but cloudy
- Too light
- No forecast
No hour in this window is dark, clear and active enough.
Hours are local time in Reykjavik.
Rule of thumb: sun below −12°, cloud cover at or under 40 % and forecast Kp of 0 or more.
Kp: last day and 3-day forecast
- Observed or estimated
- NOAA forecast
- Kp needed in Reykjavik
- G1 storm (Kp 5)
Highest forecast Kp in the next 3 days: 4.0
Days in UTC
Data fetched 2026-10-16 23:34 UTC. NOAA SWPC for Kp and OVATION, MET Norway for clouds.
Reykjavik in numbers
- Country
- Iceland
- Latitude
- 64.2° N
- Geomagnetic latitude (approx.)
- 68.8° N
- Oval reaches the place from
- Kp 0
- Arctic Circle
- 268 km south of it
- Time zone
- Atlantic/Reykjavik
- OVATION chance now
- 9%
Hours of darkness through the year
Hours with the sun below −12° on the 15th of each month, calculated for Reykjavik. Aurora needs a dark sky; this is the limit before any cloud or Kp.
| Month | Dark hours |
|---|---|
| January | 14.3 |
| February | 11.8 |
| March | 8.9 |
| April | 4.6 |
| May | None |
| June | None |
| July | None |
| August | None |
| September | 7.2 |
| October | 10.7 |
| November | 13.3 |
| December | 14.8 |
Reykjavik, at 64 degrees 8 minutes north, is the northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It sits on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay in south-west Iceland with a capital region of more than 200,000 people. A polar oceanic climate means mild winters for the latitude and plenty of weather.
The surprise in the numbers is the geomagnetic latitude. By the centered-dipole formula Iceland lies closer to the geomagnetic pole than its geographic latitude implies, so Reykjavik comes out above Abisko and Tromsø. That is also where a simple dipole is least reliable, so treat Reykjavik's Kp threshold as the least certain of the six.
Where to watch
- Grótta, the lighthouse at the tip of the Seltjarnarnes peninsula on the western edge of the city, has an open view north over the bay. It is the closest easy spot to central Reykjavik.
- Þingvellir National Park, about 45 km to the east, is the site of the Alþing, Iceland's parliament from the year 930 to 1798. The valley has little light pollution and a wide northern sky.
- The coast roads of the Reykjanes peninsula to the south-west get you out of the city lights with a short drive.
Getting there and getting around
Keflavík International Airport is on the Reykjanes peninsula, about 50 km from the city. Buses connect it to Reykjavik. Within the city you can walk to the harbour and to the bay; to reach dark sites you need a rental car or a tour. Iceland's winter roads can close at short notice, so check road conditions the same day.
Local conditions
The Atlantic brings fast-changing weather. Cloud can open and close within an hour, and the forecast is less stable than inland. The hourly strip is a guide to the evening, not a schedule. Keep the route flexible: if the sky is clear to the north, a short drive along the coast is often enough.
There is no polar night. The sun rises around midwinter and the darkest hours are long but not total. In midsummer there is no dark sky at all, which the darkness table shows as no dark hours on the 15th of May through August.
Reading the numbers for Reykjavik
The dipole conversion is an approximation, and Iceland is a region where corrected geomagnetic coordinates can differ from it by several degrees. Treat the Kp threshold as a guide to the order of magnitude, not as a guarantee that a quiet night will work.