North Karelia, Finland
Northern lights in Kontiolahti
Answer
Tonight
Waiting on darkness
It is not civil-dark yet. The next dusk is listed below.
Observed 11:55 UTC, forecast 13:26 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in Europe/Helsinki
Storm level needed
Kontiolahti sits at 62.76N 29.85E in North Karelia, Finland. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Kontiolahti at 59.5 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 3.3 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Kontiolahti sits at 59.5 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 4, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.
"aurora is commonly visible at high latitudes (northern Michigan and Maine)"
The nearest other Glow towns are Joensuu (18 km), Kuopio (111 km), Savonlinna (111 km). Joensuu sits 0.1 degrees lower on the dipole and needs the same Kp.
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 24 to July 18 the sun never reaches -6 degrees, so 56 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 3 to May 8 across New Year, 279 days in 2026. Kontiolahti's longest night of the year, Dec 18, has 16 h 40 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Kontiolahti, when the sun is lowest, falls at 23:56 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:01 on June 15. That is 4 min before midnight in December and 1 h 1 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Kontiolahti 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 | 15.8 h | 12.0 h | 78% | 3.5 hbest | |
| Feb | 13.3 h | 9.8 h | 77% | 3.1 h | |
| Mar | 10.6 h | 6.8 h | 73% | 2.9 h | |
| Apr | 7.1 h | 0.0 h | 76% | 1.7 h | |
| May | 2.9 h | 0.0 h | 74% | 0.8 h | |
| Jun | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 72% | 0.0 h | |
| Jul | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 71% | 0.0 h | |
| Aug | 5.7 h | 0.0 h | 70% | 1.7 h | |
| Sep | 9.3 h | 5.1 h | 72% | 2.6 h | |
| Oct | 12.4 h | 8.8 h | 83% | 2.1 h | |
| Nov | 15.1 h | 11.4 h | 88% | 1.8 h | |
| Dec | 16.6 h | 12.6 h | 83% | 2.8 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Kontiolahti with 16.6 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 0.0. Across the year Kontiolahti gets 3,314 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Kontiolahti, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.6 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Kontiolahti at 76% across the year, from 70% in August to 88% in November. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Kontiolahti averages 78%, against a median of 76% for Glow towns in Finland.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives January the best score, 3.5 hours, ahead of February at 3.1. Kontiolahti's equinox months score 2.9 in March and 2.6 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 4 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Kontiolahti, on 24% of days. At Kontiolahti's level the share runs from 19% in December to 31% in September, 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 4. Kp history by year
Moon, next 30 nights
Over the 30 nights from Oct 2, the new moon falls on Oct 10 and the full moon on Oct 26, in Europe/Helsinki dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Kontiolahti have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Kontiolahti has 11 h 6 min of civil night, 0 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
58% lit
0.0 h
- 3
47% lit
1.1 h
- 4
35% lit
3.4 h
- 5
25% lit
5.4 h
- 6
16% lit
7.3 h
- 7
9% lit
9.1 h
- 8
4% lit
10.8 h
- 9
1% lit
11.8 h
- 10
0% lit
11.9 h
- 11
2% lit
12.0 h
- 12
5% lit
12.1 h
- 13
10% lit
12.2 h
- 14
17% lit
12.3 h
- 15
25% lit
12.4 h
- 16
33% lit
12.5 h
- 17
43% lit
12.0 h
- 18
52% lit
10.0 h
- 19
62% lit
8.2 h
- 20
71% lit
6.6 h
- 21
79% lit
5.0 h
- 22
87% lit
3.5 h
- 23
93% lit
1.9 h
- 24
98% lit
0.2 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
99% lit
0.0 h
- 27
96% lit
0.0 h
- 28
90% lit
0.0 h
- 29
81% lit
0.0 h
- 30
72% lit
0.1 h
- 31
61% lit
2.4 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 Finland
Among the 2 Glow towns in North Karelia, Kontiolahti ranks 1st by dipole latitude against a regional median of 59.4 degrees, the highest of them. Among the 65 Glow towns in Finland, Kontiolahti ranks 21st by dipole latitude against a national median of 59.0 degrees; Rovaniemi sits highest at 63.6. On December 15 Kontiolahti gets 16.6 hours of civil night, 16th longest of 65 in Finland, where the median is 16.3.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Kontiolahti?
- Kontiolahti sits at 59.5 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 4, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Clear, dark sky over Kontiolahti still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Kontiolahti?
- Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from May 24 to Jul 18. Tonight has 11 h 6 min of it.
- What is the best month for aurora in Kontiolahti?
- January, by civil night at Kontiolahti times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Kontiolahti in the dark months?
- About 78% mean cloud amount over Kontiolahti 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 Kontiolahti?
- A 3-hour Kp of 4 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 24% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Kontiolahti by month
Region and comparisons