Northern Lights in Greenland

Best Time to See the Northern Lights in Greenland

Greenland sits close to where the aurora is most common, so you don't need a strong storm: on a dark, clear night it often shows, sometimes right overhead. The nights are dark enough from late August to April. Clear skies are what count. Kangerlussuaq, inland at the head of a long fjord, has the most settled, clearest winter weather, though it gets very cold. Ilulissat, further north, sees it often too, frequently in the southern sky. Nuuk and Tasiilaq, on the coast, get more cloud and storms.

Nightless nights

Every night of 2026 in Ilulissat, January at the top: how long it's dark, and the chance of aurora on a clear night.

Best chance of aurora on a clear night, north to south.

  • Dark hours
  • Chance of aurora

Long-term averages for clear nights, since 1985. Geomagnetic data: GFZ, CC BY 4.0