Bretagne

Northern lights in Saint-Malo tonight

Real-time aurora forecast for Saint-Malo (Bretagne) - latitude 48.65° N, estimated Kp threshold 7.

Kp index

4.3

unsettled

Hemispheric power

North21GW

South22GW

Source: app.pulsar-si.com

Tonight in Saint-Malo

Very unlikely

Based on Kp 4.3 and Saint-Malo's latitude.

Seeing the northern lights from Saint-Malo

Saint-Malo, on the Côte d'Émeraude, at 48.6° N, combines a decent latitude with a perfect northern horizon over the bay. Auroras become visible from Kp 6.5-7. Limited light pollution and the openness to the sea make it one of the best coastal Brittany spots for observation, especially from the ramparts or the Pointe du Grouin.

Observation conditions in Saint-Malo

Bortle 5 in the corsair city. The Pointe du Grouin (Bortle 4, 15 km north-east) and the Cancale coast offer a northern horizon over Mont-Saint-Michel. The Dinard area and the Pointe du Décollé are other options. Breton weather is variable, but clear nights deliver superb conditions - sea backdrop, pure air after frontal passes.

Recent auroras from Saint-Malo

10-11 May 2024 (Kp 9): red and green aurora over the ramparts, viral photos on social media. 24 March 2024 (Kp 8): observations from the Pointe du Grouin. 5 November 2023 (Kp 7): aurora reported in the Mont-Saint-Michel bay.

What Saint-Malo asks of the sky

Geomagnetic latitude

50.9°

9 of 40

Kp index required

Kp 7

9 / 12 months

Dark nights per year

356

-9

Saint-Malo ranks 9 of the 40 cities we track, at 50.9° geomagnetic. Brest sits 0.1° higher , Quimper follows at 50.6°.

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. Rennes and Brest and Caen share exactly the same threshold.

A constraint specific to this latitude: astronomical night disappears from 18 juin to 26 juin. Those 9 nights are lost in advance, whatever the Sun does. That leaves 356 usable nights.

How to read the Kp index →

Local conditions

Light pollution

Bortle 6 of 9

SQM 19.33 mag/arcsec²

Nearest darker sky

Saint-Servan

2 km · Bortle 3

Kp forecast, next 3 days

Source: app.pulsar-si.com. For an aurora to be visible from Saint-Malo, 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 Saint-Malo?

Yes, but rarely. Typically a Kp index of ≥ 7 is needed for the aurora to become visible from Saint-Malo (latitude 48.6° 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 Saint-Malo?

The approximate Kp threshold for Saint-Malo 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 Saint-Malo?

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 Saint-Malo offers better conditions?

Move at least 40-60 km north of Saint-Malo to escape urban light pollution and gain 1-2 magnitudes of limiting magnitude.

Nearby cities

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