Auroras could light up Indian skies tonight: These places have the best chance to witness them

People in Ladakh and a few other high-altitude Himalayan regions could get a rare chance to witness auroras, or the northern lights, tonight as a powerful solar storm reaches Earth.

Hanle in Ladakh has the best chance of seeing the northern lights tonight.

A faint red or pink glow may also be visible in Nubra Valley, Pangong Tso, parts of Kashmir and some higher areas of Uttarakhand if the skies remain clear.

The event is linked to a massive solar eruption that took place on June 6, when the Sun blasted a billion-tonne cloud of magnetised plasma into space at a speed of 1,400 kilometres per second. After travelling through space for two days, the cloud is now arriving at Earth.

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The US Space Weather Prediction Centre has issued a G3 (strong) geomagnetic storm watch, with brief periods of G4 (severe) conditions possible. The storm is expected to peak between 11:30 pm IST on June 8 and 2:30 am IST on June 9.

A geomagnetic storm is a temporary disturbance of Earth's magnetic field caused by a surge of solar energy hitting the magnetosphere.

Why auroras may be visible in India

Auroras occur when charged particles from the Sun collide with gases in Earth's upper atmosphere, producing colourful displays of green, purple and red light.

India is usually too far from the poles to experience the northern lights. However, strong geomagnetic storms can push the auroral zone farther south than usual.

The May 2024 solar storm, one of the strongest in recent years, brought auroras to unusually low latitudes and sparked widespread interest around the world. While tonight's storm is not expected to be as powerful, scientists say it could still be strong enough to produce visible auroras in parts of the Indian Himalayas.

Ladakh has the best chance

The most promising location in India is Hanle in Ladakh, home to the Indian Astronomical Observatory at an altitude of around 4,500 metres.

The site already witnessed a rare aurora on January 19, 2026, when observatory cameras captured a red glow across the night sky. Scientists at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics later confirmed it was an aurora.

With another strong geomagnetic storm now approaching, Hanle once again has a genuine chance of witnessing the phenomenon.

Other locations with a smaller but possible chance include the Nubra Valley, Pangong Tso, parts of Kashmir and higher regions of Uttarakhand.

Experts say observers in these areas may see a faint red or pink glow near the northern horizon if conditions remain favourable.

Which Indian cities are unlikely to see it?

Major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Chennai are not expected to witness the aurora.

Although Delhi is forecast to have clear skies, heavy light pollution will make it extremely difficult to observe any faint auroral activity. In Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Chennai, monsoon clouds are expected to block visibility.

How to watch the aurora

Experts recommend heading to the darkest location possible and facing north after midnight. Cameras and smartphones with night mode or long-exposure settings are more likely to capture the aurora than the naked eye.

Viewers should allow their eyes around 20 minutes to adjust to the darkness.

Whether the aurora becomes visible depends largely on the orientation of the magnetic field within the incoming solar cloud. Scientists will only know for certain once the cloud passes monitoring satellites located about 1.5 million kilometres from Earth, giving roughly 15 to 60 minutes of advance notice.

Skywatchers can follow real-time updates through the Space Weather Prediction Centre as the storm unfolds.