How is the climate?

 

The climate on Svalbard is principally a result of its high latitude, which is between 74° and 81° north. However, the North Atlantic Current moderates Svalbard’s temperatures, particularly during winter, giving it up to 20 °C higher winter temperature than similar latitudes in continental Russia and Canada. This keeps the surrounding waters open and navigable most of the year. The interior fjord areas and valleys, sheltered by the mountains, have less temperature differences than the coast, with about 2 °C lower summer temperatures and 3 °C higher winter temperatures. Below are wind forecast, sea ice situation around Svalbard and in Isfjorden, and updated weather forecast for Longyearbyen.

WIND FORCAST SVALBARD

Wind forecast for Svalbard next 10 days. Copyright: Windy.com

ICE CHARTS SVALBARD

The ice conditions around the Svalbard archipelago changes a lot from seasons and also between years. Svalbard is located in the northwest corner of the Barents Sea, stretching all the way between the northern coast of Norway at 70° N to the northern parts of Svalbard at 81° N, and then east to Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya in Russia. This area has seasonal ice cover and serves as a transition zone between the temperate Nordic Seas and the cold Arctic Ocean. The Barents Sea, particularly its northern expanse which is so important for polar bears, underwent a dramatic reduction of 52,5% in sea ice habitat from 1980–2017. Below is the last updated ice charts for Svalbard and Isfjorden published. More information about these ice charts is available from the Norwegian Ice Service.

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ICE CHART SVALBARD

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ICE CHART ISFJORDEN

Forecast for Longyearbyen

Weather forecast from yr.no, delivered by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and the NRK.

More on yr.no: Overview | Hour by hour | Long term | Radar | Advanced map | Statistics

Forecast for Longyearbyen  Precip. Temp. Wind speed
14.11.2019 09–12 Fair 0 mm -2 °C Gentle breeze from South-southeast 5 m/s
12–18 Clear sky 0 mm -3 °C Gentle breeze from South 5 m/s
18–24 Clear sky <1 mm -5 °C Moderate breeze from South 6 m/s
15.11.2019 00–06 Fair 0 mm -5 °C Moderate breeze from South 6 m/s
06–12 Partly cloudy 0 mm -6 °C Gentle breeze from South 5 m/s
12–18 Cloudy 0 mm -6 °C Gentle breeze from Southwest 4 m/s
18–24 Cloudy 0 mm -6 °C Gentle breeze from Southwest 4 m/s
16.11.2019 00–06 Cloudy 0 mm -5 °C Moderate breeze from South-southwest 7 m/s
06–12 Cloudy 0 mm -2 °C Moderate breeze from South-southwest 8 m/s
12–18 Cloudy <1 mm -1 °C Moderate breeze from South-southwest 7 m/s
19–01 Cloudy 0 mm -1 °C Gentle breeze from Southwest 5 m/s
17.11.2019 01–07 Cloudy 0 mm 0 °C Light breeze from Southwest 3 m/s
07–13 Cloudy 0 mm -1 °C Light breeze from Southwest 2 m/s
13–19 Cloudy 0 mm -3 °C Light breeze from South-southeast 2 m/s
19–01 Cloudy 0 mm -4 °C Light breeze from Southeast 2 m/s
18.11.2019 01–07 Cloudy 0 mm -4 °C Light breeze from South-southeast 3 m/s
07–13 Cloudy 0 mm -4 °C Gentle breeze from East 3 m/s
13–19 Cloudy 0 mm -4 °C Gentle breeze from South-southeast 4 m/s
19–01 Cloudy 0 mm -4 °C Gentle breeze from East-southeast 4 m/s
19.11.2019 01–07 Cloudy 0 mm -3 °C Gentle breeze from Southeast 4 m/s
07–13 Cloudy 0 mm -2 °C Gentle breeze from East-southeast 4 m/s
13–19 Cloudy 0 mm -3 °C Light breeze from East 3 m/s
19–01 Cloudy 0 mm -3 °C Gentle breeze from South-southeast 3 m/s