Île-de-France

Northern lights in Paris tonight

Real-time aurora forecast for Paris (Île-de-France) - latitude 48.86° N, estimated Kp threshold 7.

Kp index

4.3

unsettled

Hemispheric power

North21GW

South22GW

Source: app.pulsar-si.com

Tonight in Paris

Very unlikely

Based on Kp 4.3 and Paris's latitude.

Seeing the northern lights from Paris

Seeing the northern lights from Paris is rare, but not impossible. At 48.9° N and under a Bortle 9 sky, the capital demands exceptional conditions: a high Kp index (typically ≥ 7), clear northern horizon, and ideally a trip to the outer suburbs. In recent years, Paris has seen auroras at least twice: September 2017 (Kp 7.7) and most memorably May 2024, during a historic geomagnetic storm that made the aurora visible to the naked eye from the ring road.

Observation conditions in Paris

Paris light pollution (Bortle 9 of 9, limiting magnitude ~3.5) strips away most aurora colours. A typical green aurora (Kp 5-6) is effectively invisible from central Paris. From Kp 7 onwards, the aurora appears as a reddish or purplish glow on the northern horizon. A short trip to the forest of Rambouillet (Bortle 4, 60 km SW) or Fontainebleau (Bortle 4, 70 km S) gains 2-3 magnitudes and the aurora becomes observable from Kp 6.

Recent auroras from Paris

Recent auroras reported from Paris: 10-11 May 2024 (Kp 9, red and purple colours visible even from the ring road), 5 November 2023 (Kp 7, hard to see from the centre), 27 February 2023 (Kp 6, rural outskirts only), 8 September 2017 (Kp 7.7).

What Paris asks of the sky

Geomagnetic latitude

50.4°

12 of 40

Kp index required

Kp 7

9 / 12 months

Dark nights per year

346

-19

Paris ranks 12 of the 40 cities we track, at 50.4° geomagnetic. Reims sits 0.1° higher , Rennes follows at 50.3°.

The threshold to clear here is Kp 7. Twelve months of archive hold 9 nights, the most recent on 4 July 2026, and 157 since 1994. Rouen and Reims share exactly the same threshold.

A constraint specific to this latitude: astronomical night disappears from 13 juin to 1 juillet. Those 19 nights are lost in advance, whatever the Sun does. That leaves 346 usable nights.

How to read the Kp index →

Local conditions

Light pollution

Bortle 9 of 9

SQM 17.64 mag/arcsec²

Nearest darker sky

Popincourt

2 km · Bortle 8

Kp forecast, next 3 days

Source: app.pulsar-si.com. For an aurora to be visible from Paris, Kp must exceed 7.

Wed 19 Aug

1.1

Expected max Kp

Thu 20 Aug

1.5

Expected max Kp

Fri 21 Aug

1.7

Expected max Kp

Frequently asked questions

Can you see the northern lights from Paris?

Yes, but rarely. Typically a Kp index of ≥ 7 is needed for the aurora to become visible from Paris (latitude 48.9° N). Major geomagnetic storms (Kp 8-9) that reach this latitude happen only a handful of times per 11-year solar cycle.

What Kp index is needed to see auroras from Paris?

The approximate Kp threshold for Paris is 7. Below that, auroras stay confined to high latitudes (Norway, Scotland). Above it, they gradually extend southward. A Kp of 8 gives a fair chance, 9 a strong one.

When is the best time to watch from Paris?

Auroras are a nighttime phenomenon, best observed between roughly 10 PM and 2 AM local time, when the geomagnetic pole is tilted towards the Earth's night side. In practice, peaks depend on when a coronal mass ejection arrives - activity can spike at any hour.

Where around Paris offers better conditions?

Nearby darker-sky spots: Forêt de Rambouillet (Bortle 4, ~60 km); Forêt de Fontainebleau (Bortle 4, ~70 km); Triangle Vert de Cergy-Pontoise (Bortle 5, ~40 km). You typically need to move 40-60 km away from the metro area to gain 1-2 magnitudes of limiting magnitude.

Nearby cities

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