Northern lights in Reykjavík in January

A solid choice — 32% of January nights offer a real viewing window.

The numbers behind it: January nights in Reykjavík average about 12 dark hours, geomagnetic activity reaches local viewing levels on 79% of days, and 40% of nights offer at least one reasonably clear hour after dark.

Neither clouds nor solar activity dominates — January failures are usually bad single-night luck. Several nights in a row is the honest insurance policy.

Numbers come from 1996–2025 Kp records (GFZ Potsdam) and 2015–2024 hourly cloud history for Reykjavík itself — the full method is on the methodology page. Travelling soon? Check tonight's live Reykjavík forecast.

January against the rest of the year

1. Jan32% of nights
2. Feb30% of nights
3. Mar29% of nights
4. Apr24% of nights
5. Maymidnight sun
6. Junmidnight sun
7. Julmidnight sun
8. Aug16% of nights
9. Sep31% of nights
10. Oct29% of nights
11. Nov31% of nights
12. Dec31% of nights

December in Reykjavík · February in Reykjavík · full year overview

January elsewhere under the oval

• Yellowknife 54% of nights
• Fairbanks 53% of nights
• Tromsø 32% of nights
• Kiruna 29% of nights
• Lofoten Islands 28% of nights
• Abisko 18% of nights
• Rovaniemi 18% of nights