SKY · AURORA · ENGLAND, UK
Aurora Forecast — London
London is a storm-only location — it only sees the aurora during strong-to-severe geomagnetic storms, when the oval pushes unusually far toward the equator.
Right now the aurora is unlikely from London: the Kp is 1.0, below the roughly Kp 9 this location needs. Worth checking back if a storm is forecast.
Source: NOAA SWPC (planetary Kp index) · viewing threshold from London's geomagnetic latitude (IGRF). Figures update through the night.
Seeing the northern lights from London
Whether the aurora is visible from Londoncomes down to two things: how disturbed Earth's magnetic field is (the Kp index, 0–9) and how far north London sits in geomagneticterms — about 49° here. The more active the field, the further from the poles the glowing oval reaches. For London, the rule of thumb is a Kp of 9 or higher.
On a promising night, get away from street lighting, give your eyes 20 minutes to adapt, and look toward the northern horizon. A faint grey-green arch to the naked eye often shows up far more vividly through a phone or camera on a long exposure.
What to check before you go
Clear skies matter as much as the Kp — thick cloud hides everything. Pair this forecast with the live weather layer for London, and remember the Moon: a bright Moon washes out faint aurora.
London right now
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