Latvia · Aurora borealis
Is the aurora visible in Riga tonight?
Right now
Not tonight.
Kp is 2.0. Riga needs Kp 7+ for the oval overhead — right now it’s not reaching Riga.
Tonight's peak is forecast around Kp 4.7 (Active). The forecast still depends on darkness, cloud and the moon at your exact spot.
Reliable about 30 minutes ahead — cloud decides the rest.
Riga only catches the aurora during strong geomagnetic storms — it needs roughly Kp 7+ for the northern lights to come into view. Here's tonight's live space weather and how to plan around it.
How to see the aurora from Riga
Face north and find a clear, low horizon in that direction. Everything else — dark skies, adapted eyes, the camera trick — is the same anywhere on Earth, so it lives in the how to photograph the aurora guide.
When can you see the northern lights in Riga?
Aurora season in Riga runs roughly September – March. Here the months that pay off are September, May, and March — the table below shows why. See the full best time to see the aurora guide for the season in detail.
Riga by the numbers
Between Sep 1, 2025 and Aug 31, 2026, Riga had 365 nights dark enough for the aurora, and the planetary Kp reached the Kp 7+ this place needs on 9 of them. Averaged over 2015–2024 and this location's cloud cover, that works out to about 2 aurora-possible nights a year, most of them in September, May, and March.
| Month | Dark hours per night | Dark nights | Average cloud cover | Aurora-possible nights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15 h | 31 | 85% | 0 |
| February | 13 h | 28 | 78% | 0 |
| March | 11 h | 31 | 67% | <1 |
| April | 8.3 h | 30 | 58% | <1 |
| May | 5.5 h | 31 | 52% | <1 |
| June | 3.8 h | 30 | 54% | <1 |
| July | 4.5 h | 31 | 58% | 0 |
| August | 7.3 h | 31 | 57% | <1 |
| September | 9.8 h | 30 | 61% | <1 |
| October | 12.3 h | 31 | 72% | <1 |
| November | 14.3 h | 30 | 84% | 0 |
| December | 15.5 h | 31 | 86% | 0 |
Sources: the sun's geometry (dark = at least 6° below the horizon), GFZ Potsdam's Kp index 2015–2024 (CC BY 4.0), ERA5 cloud cover via Open-Meteo (the table shows the monthly mean; the estimate counts days that were not overcast). An estimate for comparing places and months, not a forecast — how we estimate this.
Where to watch near Riga
Get out of the city lights and find a clear view to the north. These are places near Riga that locals and aurora chasers use. Distances and drive times are from the city centre.
Mangaļsala breakwater (Austrumu mols)
A breakwater just over 2 km long at the mouth of the Daugava, open to the public. From its end there is a wide view over the Gulf of Riga to the north.
It is within Riga, next to the port, so only strong displays will stand out. Reaching the end means a long walk on an exposed breakwater in the dark.
MapGreat Ķemeri Bog boardwalk (Lielais Ķemeru tīrelis)
A large, flat raised bog in Ķemeri National Park with a wide, open horizon and an observation tower on the long loop. A local aurora chaser saw a bright display here before midnight on 13 September 2023.
The long loop is about 3.4 km. In 2023 the national park agency warned that rotting boards could endanger visitors and that some sections might close. Take a torch and watch your step.
MapLapmežciems beach
A beach on the west shore of the Gulf of Riga, with open water to the north and north-east. The same aurora chaser watched green and violet aurora here on 13 September 2023.
Riga lies to the east across the gulf, so its glow can tint that side of the sky.
Map
Local tips
- Latvia's light summer nights hide most aurora. Even during the May 2024 storm, astronomer Ilgonis Vilks warned that the bright nights would make it harder to see.
- On storm nights, LSM weather presenter Mārtiņš Bergšteins (@MeteoLatvia on X) posts live updates on whether aurora is likely over Latvia.
The last big one
: A bright aurora was visible across almost all of Latvia, clear enough to see even under Riga's city lights, with photos from the centre and Iļģuciems.
Sources (6), checked 2026-11-07
Where it’s reliable
