Svalbard
Svalbard | |
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 Flag
.svg) Coat of arms
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| Capital and largest city | Longyearbyen |
| Official languages | Norwegian |
| Ethnic groups | |
| Government | Region of Norway |
• Governor | Odd Olsen Ingerø (2009–) |
| Area | |
• Total | 61,022 km2 (23,561 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2023 estimate | 2,530[1] |
| Currency | Norwegian krone (NOK) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Calling code | +47 |
| Internet TLD | .no a |
Svalbard is a group of islands in the Arctic Ocean. It is the most northern part of Norway. It is about halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. Spitsbergen is the largest island, followed by Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya. The islands are governed by the Governor of Svalbard. The government is located at Longyearbyen. Other settlements include research outposts, the Russian mining community of Barentsburg, the research community of Ny-Ålesund and the mining outpost of Sveagruva.
The islands were first used as a whaling base in the 17th and 18th centuries. After this, they were abandoned. Coal mining started at the beginning of the 20th century, and several permanent villages were built. The Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920 states that Norway is in control of Svalbard. The 1925 Svalbard Act made Svalbard part of Norway. These treaties also set out rules that economic activities could be done freely and that no military activities can take place. There are only two mining companies, one Norwegian and one Russian. Research and tourism are important industries. There are no roads to connect the settlements. Instead, snowmobiles, aircraft and boats serve as transport. Svalbard Airport in Longyearbyen is the main airport.
In summer, the plants grow quickly (one plant every 25-78 days) during the midnight sun. Svalbard is a breeding ground for many seabirds. There are also polar bears, reindeer, and mammals that live in the sea. Seven national parks and 23 nature reserves cover two-thirds of Svalbard. This protects the fragile natural environment. Sixty percent of land is covered by glaciers, and the islands have many mountains and fjords.
Economy: coal mining is still being done in one mine (as of 2022).[3]
Climate
[change | change source]Svalbard's climate is a combination of an Arctic climate (Köppen: ET) tempered by the North Atlantic Current. Nordenskiöld Land is the warmest and wettest part of the archipelago, caused by the convergence of mild and humid air from the south and cold air from the north. Average summer highs are typically 3 to 7 °C (37 to 45 °F) while average winter highs are −11 to −13 °C (12 to 9 °F).[4] Svalbard experiences midnight sun from 19 April through 23 August, polar night from 27 October through 14 February and civil polar night from 14 November through 29 January. However, due to shading from mountains, the sun is not visible in Svalbard until around 8 March.[5] Snow typically covers the town from November through March. The warmest temperature ever record in Svalbard was an extraordinary 25.0 °C (77.0 °F) in July 1977 and the coldest was a frigid −46.3 °C (−51.3 °F) in March 1986.[6]
Despite its extreme northerly location, Svalbard has recorded a temperature above freezing in all months. One example was in February 2012, when the mild temperatures had an affect on both people and wildlife. The climate is known to be warming very rapidly. Svalbard has also not recorded a temperature below freezing in July.[7]
Warm temperatures can occasionally occur in Summer. The most recent warm spell was at the end of July to the beginning of August in 2015, when the mercury hit 18.0 °C (64.4 °F).[8]
Bjornoya (Bear Island) holds the record for the lowest average annual sunshine total in Europe, at just 595 hours, sunnier than some parts of Scotland.[9] Conversely, Longyearbyen, further to the north-west, receives almost twice as much sunshine as Bjornoya.[10]
| Climate data for Longyearbyen, Svalbard | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 7.7 (45.9) |
7.0 (44.6) |
6.3 (43.3) |
7.5 (45.5) |
10.6 (51.1) |
15.7 (60.3) |
25.0 (77.0) |
18.1 (64.6) |
15.2 (59.4) |
8.9 (48.0) |
7.5 (45.5) |
7.2 (45.0) |
25.0 (77.0) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −13.0 (8.6) |
−13.0 (8.6) |
−13.0 (8.6) |
−9.0 (15.8) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
3.0 (37.4) |
7.0 (44.6) |
6.0 (42.8) |
1.0 (33.8) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
−8.0 (17.6) |
−11.0 (12.2) |
−4.7 (23.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −16.5 (2.3) |
−17.0 (1.4) |
−16.5 (2.3) |
−12.5 (9.5) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
1.0 (33.8) |
5.0 (41.0) |
4.0 (39.2) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
−6.5 (20.3) |
−11.0 (12.2) |
−14.5 (5.9) |
−7.5 (18.4) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −20.0 (−4.0) |
−21.0 (−5.8) |
−20.0 (−4.0) |
−16.0 (3.2) |
−7.0 (19.4) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
3.0 (37.4) |
2.0 (35.6) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−9.0 (15.8) |
−14.0 (6.8) |
−18.0 (−0.4) |
−10.3 (13.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −38.8 (−37.8) |
−43.7 (−46.7) |
−46.3 (−51.3) |
−39.1 (−38.4) |
−21.7 (−7.1) |
−8.4 (16.9) |
0.2 (32.4) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
−12.6 (9.3) |
−20.8 (−5.4) |
−33.2 (−27.8) |
−35.6 (−32.1) |
−46.3 (−51.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 22 (0.9) |
28 (1.1) |
29 (1.1) |
16 (0.6) |
13 (0.5) |
18 (0.7) |
24 (0.9) |
30 (1.2) |
25 (1.0) |
19 (0.7) |
22 (0.9) |
25 (1.0) |
271 (10.6) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 1 mm) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 18 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 86 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 1 cm) | 21 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 176 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 0.0 | 0.0 | 77.5 | 228.0 | 254.2 | 165.0 | 155.0 | 133.3 | 75.0 | 12.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1,100.4 |
| Source 1: Climate and daylight in Svalbard (Longyearbyen)[4] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: (extremes only),[11] (rain days & snow only)[12] (sun only)[10] | |||||||||||||
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Population of Svalbard". Statistics Norway. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020. Table 2: Population in the settlements. Svalbard
- ↑ "The .bv and .sj top level domains". Norid. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
- ↑ https://e24.no/naeringsliv/i/ALM8mr/vil-utsette-stengingen-av-norges-siste-kullgruve?referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vg.no. E24.no. Retrieved April 3, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Climate and daylight in Svalbard (Longyearbyen)". NordicVisitor. Archived from the original on 17 May 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
- ↑ "Sunrise and sunset times for Longyearbyen". Suncurves. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- ↑ S.L, Tutiempo Network. "Climate Svalbard Lufthavn - Climate data (10080)". www.tutiempo.net.
- ↑ Marshall,ClimateWire, Christa. "Fast-Warming Arctic Proves Deadly to Animals and People". Scientific American.
- ↑ S.L, Tutiempo Network. "Climate Svalbard Lufthavn (July 2015) - Climate data (10080)". www.tutiempo.net.
- ↑ "National Meteorological Library and Archive Fact sheet 9 — Weather extremes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-08-21.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Sunshine & Daylight Hours in Isfjord Radio, Svalbard, Norway Sunlight, Cloud & Day length". www.svalbard.climatemps.com.
- ↑ Sjöblom, Anna. "Weather Conditions on Svalbard" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 9, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
- ↑ "July Climate History for Longyearbyen | Local | Norway".
Related pages
[change | change source]Other websites
[change | change source]
- Governor of Svalbard Official site Archived 2005-12-22 at the Wayback Machine
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