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Olonkinbyen, Svalbard climate
ET Tundra
Olonkinbyen has a mildly seasonal subarctic climate (Tundra, Köppen ET). The hottest month is August with an average daily high near 8°C, while the coldest is March averaging around −6°C at night. Around 646 mm of precipitation falls each year, peaking in September (79 mm) and easing off in June (24 mm). At latitude 71°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)Olonkinbyen climate normals (1991–2020)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | −1 | −1 | −2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Avg temp (°C) | −3 | −3 | −4 | −2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 1 | −1 | −3 |
| Avg low (°C) | −5 | −5 | −6 | −4 | −1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | −3 | −5 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 62 | 51 | 54 | 39 | 34 | 24 | 37 | 57 | 79 | 72 | 70 | 68 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | −1 | −1 | −2 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Avg temp (°C) | −3 | −3 | −4 | −2 | 1 | 3 |
| Avg low (°C) | −5 | −5 | −6 | −4 | −1 | 2 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 62 | 51 | 54 | 39 | 34 | 24 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 8 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 6 | 6 | 5 | 1 | −1 | −3 |
| Avg low (°C) | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | −3 | −5 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 37 | 57 | 79 | 72 | 70 | 68 |
How often — frequency of weather events
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 22 | 20 | 22 | 17 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 27 | 26 | 29 | 26 | 22 | 7 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 4 | 18 | 23 | 27 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 22 | 20 | 22 | 17 | 13 | 11 |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 27 | 26 | 29 | 26 | 22 | 7 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 14 | 17 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 0.4 | 0.1 | 4 | 18 | 23 | 27 |
Sky & atmosphere
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 89 | 90 | 89 | 85 | 84 | 81 | 90 | 89 | 87 | 87 | 89 | 90 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 87 | 86 | 86 | 86 | 88 | 92 | 95 | 93 | 89 | 86 | 85 | 86 |
| Wind speed (m/s) | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.4 | 6.6 | 5.6 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 5.9 | 6.8 | 7.4 | 8.0 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 89 | 90 | 89 | 85 | 84 | 81 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 87 | 86 | 86 | 86 | 88 | 92 |
| Wind speed (m/s) | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.4 | 6.6 | 5.6 | 4.4 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 90 | 89 | 87 | 87 | 89 | 90 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 95 | 93 | 89 | 86 | 85 | 86 |
| Wind speed (m/s) | 4.2 | 4.7 | 5.9 | 6.8 | 7.4 | 8.0 |
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 30 years of daily observations at Jan Mayen, a weather station, about 2 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.