The Climate of
Svalbard
Main street in Longyearbyen
What is the climate of Svalbard like?
The Svalbard archipelago of Norwegian territory is located between 74° and 81°N in the Arctic Ocean. Much of the higher land is ice-covered; Glaciers descend to the sea where they calve to produce icebergs. The west and south coasts have many fjords, while the western coastal lowlands are up to 10 km wide.
The archipelago is the meeting place for cold polar air from the north and mild, humid sea air from the south. The west coast is kept ice-free for six months of the year by the relatively warm waters of the North Atlantic Current, but air temperatures in Longyearbyen have been recorded as low as -46°C (-51°F). In this region there are 112 days when the sun does not appear above the horizon.
Spitsbergen has a severe arctic climate, but due to the warm ocean currents, the climate is less severe than the equivalent latitude of Greenland. The winters are very cold and in the short summer the snow hardly melts at sea level. Even in the coldest winter months, a thaw can set in for a few days; but on the other hand snow sometimes falls in July and August. In the mountainous interior there are glaciers and permanent snowfields. The northern coasts of the islands are permanently enclosed by pack ice. The islands have long been inhabited, first by whalers and later by miners. Winter conditions are severe and arctic clothing is essential for outdoor survival.
Spring comes in June; the snow becomes saturated with water and disappears in places, and spoonwort and polar willow open their buds. By the end of June, the thermometer no longer falls below freezing at night; July, August and September are the best months. The end of September sees freezing temperatures again.
| Climate data for Longyearbyen (1991-2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | −7.7 (18.1) | −8.3 (17.1) | −8.8 (16.2) | −5.7 (21.7) | −0.6 (30.9) | 5.6 (42.1) | 9.4 (48.9) | 8.2 (46.8) | 4 (39) | −1.5 (29.3) | −3.8 (25.2) | −6.1 (21.0) | −1.3 (29.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −10.9 (12.4) | −11.6 (11.1) | −12 (10) | −8.8 (16.2) | −2.2 (28.0) | 3.6 (38.5) | 7 (45) | 6 (43) | 2 (36) | −3.8 (25.2) | −6.4 (20.5) | −9.2 (15.4) | −3.9 (25.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −14.2 (6.4) | −15 (5) | −15.5 (4.1) | −12.1 (10.2) | −3.9 (25.0) | 2.2 (36.0) | 5.4 (41.7) | 4.4 (39.9) | 0.3 (32.5) | −6.1 (21.0) | −9.3 (15.3) | −12.2 (10.0) | −6.3 (20.6) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 21 (0.8) | 17 (0.7) | 16 (0.6) | 9 (0.4) | 8 (0.3) | 8 (0.3) | 20 (0.8) | 23 (0.9) | 26 (1.0) | 18 (0.7) | 22 (0.9) | 24 (0.9) | 212 (8.3) |
| Source: Norwegian Meteorological Institute | |||||||||||||
Longyearbyen is the fastest-warming town in the world. Since 1971, temperatures on Svalbard have risen five times faster than the global average, by roughly four degrees Celsius. Winters now are more than 7°C warmer than they were in the 1970s.
References
- E. A. Pearce, Charles Gordon Smith, (1990) The Hutchinson World Weather Guide, John Murray Press. ISBN 1859863426
- Timothy L. Gall, (ed.), (2003), Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations, Eleventh Edition, Thomson Gale
- Hugh Chisholm, (ed.), (1911), Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh edition, Cambridge University Press
The Climate of
Svalbard
In summary:
Svalbard has a severe Arctic climate. Winters are very cold and in the short summer snow scarcely melts. In the mountainous interior there are glaciers and permanent snowfields.