Longyearbyen, the main settlement in the Svalbard archipelago, is located at 78°N in the European Arctic. Its climate is generally warmer than other locations at similar latitudes, due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. However, the average annual temperature still typically remains below 0°C.
Svalbard has an Arctic climate, but it is relatively mild and wet compared to other high Arctic regions. This is largely due to the influence of the West Spitsbergen Current, the northernmost branch of the Gulf Stream, which transports warm Atlantic water northward into the Arctic. The average annual temperature between 1971 and 2000 was -8.7°C, but in recent decades temperatures have risen by 3 to 5°C. Svalbard is therefore warming much faster than the global average. Temperatures have risen even more in winter. As a result, many fjords along the west coast are now ice-free for most of the year.
Svalbard lies between cold Arctic air from the north and milder maritime air from the south, which leads to frequent storms, especially in winter. The region is mostly affected by northeasterly winds, but mountains and fjords create local variations.
Precipitation varies throughout Svalbard. Between 1971 and 2000, annual rainfall and snowfall ranged from 196 mm at Svalbard Airport to 581 mm at Barentsburg. However, because snow and strong winds make it difficult to measure precipitation accurately, the true average is estimated to be 720 mm per year. Heavy winter precipitation has become more common in recent decades.
Svalbard has the warmest permafrost this far north in the Arctic. At a depth of 10-20 m, permafrost temperatures range from -2.5°C along the coast to -5°C further inland. The permafrost has warmed considerably in recent years. [1]
([1] I. Hanssen-Bauer, et al. Climate in Svalbard 2100. The Norwegian Centre for Climate Services (NCCS), 2019.)
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Time series of meteorological variables in Longyeardalen from 2023-11-01 to 2024-10-15. Air temperature (°C), surface temperature (°C), 1 hour precipitation (mm), mean wind speed (m/s) and snow depth (cm). (AGF-213: Vera Braas, Janette Hagren, Lennart Rathjen, Tom Lassmann)
From 1st November 2023 to 15th October 2024, the Longyeardalen central weather station recorded an average daily air temperature of −9.0°C during the winter (November to April) and 4.5°C in summer (May to October). Winter temperatures were more variable than those in summer. The warmest recorded daily mean temperature in 2024 was 20.0°C in early August, while the coldest was −26.1°C in mid-January.