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Longyearbyen, Svalbard climate
ET Tundra
Longyearbyen has a seasonal subarctic climate (Tundra, Köppen ET). The hottest month is July with an average daily high near 9°C, while the coldest is March averaging around −16°C at night. Around 205 mm of precipitation falls each year, peaking in December (24 mm) and easing off in April (9 mm). At latitude 78°N, day length swings from 0.0 hours in midwinter to 24.0 hours at midsummer.
Temperature & precipitation
Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figuresHours of sunshine per day
Estimated sunny hours each month — daylight length × clear-sky fraction · 1991–2020 monthly cloud cover (NASA POWER)Longyearbyen climate normals (1991–2020)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | −8 | −8 | −9 | −6 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 4 | −1 | −4 | −6 |
| Avg temp (°C) | −11 | −12 | −12 | −9 | −2 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 2 | −4 | −7 | −9 |
| Avg low (°C) | −14 | −15 | −16 | −12 | −4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | −6 | −9 | −12 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 19 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 16 | 22 | 24 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | −8 | −8 | −9 | −6 | 0 | 6 |
| Avg temp (°C) | −11 | −12 | −12 | −9 | −2 | 4 |
| Avg low (°C) | −14 | −15 | −16 | −12 | −4 | 2 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 19 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 12 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 9 | 8 | 4 | −1 | −4 | −6 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 7 | 6 | 2 | −4 | −7 | −9 |
| Avg low (°C) | 5 | 4 | 0 | −6 | −9 | −12 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 19 | 21 | 23 | 16 | 22 | 24 |
How often — frequency of weather events
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 8 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 31 | 28 | 31 | 29 | 27 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 14 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 8 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 31 | 28 | 31 | 29 | 27 | 5 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 0.0 | 0.9 | 14 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
Sky & atmosphere
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 74 | 68 | 68 | 59 | 63 | 70 | 77 | 74 | 72 | 78 | 76 | 74 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 98 | 98 | 98 | 95 | 91 | 91 | 92 | 92 | 94 | 96 | 97 | 98 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 10.1 | 9.6 | 9.1 | 8.0 | 7.1 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 8.9 | 10.0 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 74 | 68 | 68 | 59 | 63 | 70 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 98 | 98 | 98 | 95 | 91 | 91 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 10.1 | 9.6 | 9.1 | 8.0 | 7.1 | 5.9 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 77 | 74 | 72 | 78 | 76 | 74 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 92 | 92 | 94 | 96 | 97 | 98 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 5.5 | 5.6 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 8.9 | 10.0 |
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 30 years of daily observations at Svalbard Airport, a weather station, about 5 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.