Chukotka, Russia
Northern lights in Anadyr
Answer
Tonight
Darkness window open
Civil darkness has begun.
Observed 11:49 UTC, forecast 13:20 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in Asia/Anadyr
Storm level needed
Anadyr sits at 64.73N 177.51E in Chukotka, Russia. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Anadyr at 60.4 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 4.3 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Anadyr sits at 60.4 degrees geomagnetic, inside SWPC's 60 to 75 degree band, where aurora can be seen on more than half of all nights. No storm is needed: by SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 3.
"The best place to observe the aurora is under an oval shaped region between the north and south latitudes of about 60 and 75 degrees. At these polar latitudes, the aurora can be observed more than half of the nights of a given year."
The nearest other Glow towns are Fairbanks (1,626 km), Anchorage (1,672 km), Eagle River (1,682 km). Fairbanks sits 5.2 degrees higher on the dipole, Kp 1 against 3 here.
Approximate: SWPC calls its Kp to latitude rule an average, and a centered dipole can differ by a degree from fuller field models. How the storm level is matched
The year in darkness
From May 15 to July 28 the sun never reaches -6 degrees, so 75 nights in 2026 have no civil darkness at all. SWPC puts it plainly: "It must also be dark so during the summer months at auroral latitudes, the midnight sun prevents auroral observations." Glow's dark season, at least 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00, runs from August 10 to May 2 across New Year, 266 days in 2026. Anadyr's longest night of the year, Dec 20, has 17 h 13 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Anadyr, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:05 on local clocks on December 15 and 00:10 on June 15. That is 5 min after midnight in December and 10 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Anadyr the darkest hour sits near the middle of SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window in winter.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16.3 h | 12.2 h | 58% | 6.8 h | |
| Feb | 13.6 h | 9.8 h | 60% | 5.4 h | |
| Mar | 10.5 h | 6.4 h | 59% | 4.3 h | |
| Apr | 6.7 h | 0.0 h | 67% | 2.2 h | |
| May | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 76% | 0.0 h | |
| Jun | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 69% | 0.0 h | |
| Jul | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 71% | 0.0 h | |
| Aug | 4.9 h | 0.0 h | 70% | 1.5 h | |
| Sep | 9.1 h | 4.2 h | 69% | 2.8 h | |
| Oct | 12.4 h | 8.6 h | 76% | 3.0 h | |
| Nov | 15.4 h | 11.4 h | 71% | 4.5 h | |
| Dec | 17.1 h | 12.8 h | 60% | 6.9 hbest |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Anadyr with 17.2 hours of civil night and May the lightest at 0.0. Across the year Anadyr gets 3,249 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Anadyr, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.8 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Anadyr at 67% across the year, from 58% in January to 76% in May. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Anadyr averages 66%, against a median of 77% for Glow towns in Russia.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives December the best score, 6.9 hours, ahead of January at 6.8. Anadyr's equinox months score 4.3 in March and 2.8 in September, the weeks SWPC links with larger storms.
Kp history
From 1996 to 2025, the GFZ Potsdam record shows a 3-hour Kp of 3 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Anadyr, on 50% of days. At Anadyr's level the share runs from 43% in June to 58% in March, while storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%.
Share of UTC days in each calendar month whose highest 3-hour Kp reached Kp 3. Kp history by year
Moon, next 30 nights
Over the 30 nights from Oct 2, the new moon falls on Oct 11 and the full moon on Oct 26, in Asia/Anadyr dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Anadyr have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 7 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Anadyr has 11 h 1 min of civil night, 0 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
62% lit
0.0 h
- 3
51% lit
0.0 h
- 4
39% lit
1.6 h
- 5
29% lit
4.2 h
- 6
19% lit
6.3 h
- 7
11% lit
8.3 h
- 8
5% lit
10.1 h
- 9
2% lit
11.8 h
- 10
0% lit
11.9 h
- 11
1% lit
12.0 h
- 12
4% lit
12.1 h
- 13
8% lit
12.2 h
- 14
14% lit
12.3 h
- 15
22% lit
12.4 h
- 16
30% lit
12.5 h
- 17
39% lit
12.6 h
- 18
48% lit
12.7 h
- 19
58% lit
9.5 h
- 20
67% lit
7.6 h
- 21
76% lit
5.9 h
- 22
84% lit
4.2 h
- 23
91% lit
2.6 h
- 24
96% lit
0.8 h
- 25
99% lit
0.0 h
- 26
100% lit
0.0 h
- 27
97% lit
0.0 h
- 28
92% lit
0.0 h
- 29
85% lit
0.0 h
- 30
76% lit
0.0 h
- 31
65% lit
0.1 h
Each cell is the night that starts on that date. Hours are civil-dark time with the moon below the horizon; the green rule scales with them. Green outline: new moon. Bone outline: full moon.
Within Russia
Among the 77 Glow towns in Russia, Anadyr ranks 17th by dipole latitude against a national median of 57.3 degrees; Nikel sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Anadyr gets 17.2 hours of civil night, 27th longest of 77 in Russia, where the median is 16.7.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Anadyr?
- Anadyr sits at 60.4 degrees geomagnetic, inside SWPC's 60 to 75 degree band, where aurora can be seen on more than half of all nights. No storm is needed: by SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 3. Clear, dark sky over Anadyr still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Anadyr?
- Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from May 15 to Jul 28. Tonight has 11 h 1 min of it.
- What is the best month for aurora in Anadyr?
- December, by civil night at Anadyr times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Anadyr in the dark months?
- About 66% mean cloud amount over Anadyr in the months with at least 4 hours of civil night, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology.
- How often is activity high enough for Anadyr?
- A 3-hour Kp of 3 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 50% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Anadyr by month
Region and comparisons