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Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it lies about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. The largest island is Spitsbergen (37,673 km2), followed in size by Nordaustlandet (14,443 km2), italic= no (5,073 km2), and Barentsøya (1,288 km2). Bjørnøya or Bear Island (178 km2) is the most southerly island in the territory, situated some 147 km south of Spitsbergen. Other small islands in the group include Hopen to the southeast of Edgeøya, Kongsøya and Svenskøya in the east, and Kvitøya to the northeast. The largest settlement is Longyearbyen, situated in Isfjorden on the west coast of Spitsbergen.
Whaling who sailed far north in the 17th and 18th centuries used the islands as a base; subsequently, the archipelago was abandoned. Coal mining started at the beginning of the 20th century, and several permanent communities such as Pyramiden and Barentsburg were established. The Svalbard Treaty of 1920 recognizes Norwegian sovereignty, and the Norwegian Svalbard Act of 1925 made Svalbard a full part of the Kingdom of Norway. The Svalbard Treaty established Svalbard as a free economic zone and restricts the military use of the archipelago. The Norwegian Store Norske and the Russian Arktikugol remain the only mining companies in place.
Research and tourism have become important supplementary industries, with the University Centre in Svalbard and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault playing critical roles in the local economy. Apart from Longyearbyen, other settlements include the Russian mining community of Barentsburg, the Norwegian research station of Ny-Ålesund, the Polish research station of Hornsund, the settlement of Nybyen, and the Swedish-Norwegian mining outpost of Sveagruva (which closed in 2020). Other settlements lie farther north, but are populated only by rotating groups of researchers. No roads connect the settlements; instead, , aircraft, and boats provide inter-settlement transport. Svalbard Airport serves as the main gateway.
Approximately 60% of the archipelago is covered with , and the islands feature many mountains and . The archipelago has an Arctic climate, although with significantly higher temperatures than other areas at the same latitude due to the impact of the tail end of the Gulf Stream from the Atlantic Ocean. The flora has adapted to take advantage of the long period of midnight sun to compensate for the polar night. Many use Svalbard as a breeding ground, and it is home to , reindeer, the Arctic fox, and certain marine mammals. Seven national parks and 23 nature reserves cover two-thirds of the archipelago, protecting the largely untouched fragile environment. Norway announced new regulations regarding tourism in February 2024, including a maximum of 200 people on a ship, to protect flora and fauna in Svalbard.
While part of the Kingdom of Norway since 1925, Svalbard is not part of geographical Norway; administratively, the archipelago is not part of any Norwegian county, but forms an unincorporated area. Svalbard, Norway. Svalbard, Norway – historical views – earth watching. (n.d.). European Space Agency This means that it is administered directly by the Norwegian government through an appointed governor, and is a special jurisdiction subject to the Svalbard Treaty that is outside of the Schengen Area, the Nordic Passport Union, and the European Economic Area. Svalbard and Jan Mayen are collectively assigned the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country-code "SJ". Both areas are administered by Norway, though they are separated by a distance of over and have very different administrative structures.
The Icelandic Annals record that Svalbarði was discovered in 1194, while the Landnámabók places it four days' sailing north of Langanes. The word "day" might mean either 12 or 24 hours; Isachsen took the latter interpretation, thus discounting Jan Mayen as Svalbarði. Cultural studies academic Roald Berg says Svalbarði more likely referred to part of Greenland, but the 1925 renaming cemented Norwegian sovereignty as recognised by the 1920 Spitsbergen Treaty (now the Svalbard Treaty).
The name Spitsbergen originated with Dutch navigator and explorer Willem Barentsz, who in 1596 described the "pointed mountains" or, in Dutch, spitse bergen that he saw on the west coast of the main island. Barentsz did not recognize that he had discovered an archipelago, and consequently the name Spitsbergen long remained in use both for the main island and for the archipelago as a whole. In Search of Het Behouden Huys: A Survey of the Remains of the House of Willem Barentsz on Novaya Zemlya, LOUWRENS HACQUEBORD, p. 250 . Later the main island was sometimes distinguished as West Spitsbergen. The spelling Spitzbergen, with z instead of s, derives from German.... the Archipelago of Spitsbergen, comprising, with Bear Island... all the islands situated between 10deg. and 35deg. longitude East of Greenwich and between 74deg. and 81 deg. latitude North, especially West Spitsbergen..." Treaty concerning the Archipelago of Spitsbergen (1920), p. 1.
All settlements are on Spitsbergen, except the meteorological outposts on Bjørnøya and Hopen. The Norwegian state took possession of all unclaimed land, or 95.2% of the archipelago, at the time the Svalbard Treaty entered into force; Store Norske, a Norwegian coal mining company, owns 4%, Arktikugol, a Russian coal mining company, owns 0.4%, while other private owners hold 0.4%.
As Svalbard is north of the Arctic Circle, it experiences midnight sun in summer and polar night in winter. At 74° north, the midnight sun lasts 99 days and polar night 84 days, while the respective figures at 81° north are 141 and 128 days.Torkilsen (1984): 96–97 In Longyearbyen, midnight sun lasts from 20 April until 23 August, and polar night lasts from 26 October to 15 February. In winter, the combination of full moon and reflective snow can give additional light.
Due to the Earth's tilt and the high latitude, Svalbard has extensive twilights. Longyearbyen sees the first and last day of polar night having seven and a half hours of twilight, whereas the perpetual light lasts for two weeks longer than the midnight sun. On the summer solstice, the sun bottoms out at 12° sun angle in the middle of the night, being much higher during night than in mainland Norway's polar light areas. However, the daytime maximum sun angle at the summer solstice is approximately 35°.
Glacier covers or 60% of Svalbard; 30% is barren rock while 10% is vegetated.Umbreit (2005): 3 The largest glacier is Austfonna () on Nordaustlandet, followed by Olav V Land and Vestfonna. During summer, it is possible to ski from Sørkapp in the south to the north of Spitsbergen, with only a short distance not being covered by snow or glacier. Kvitøya is 99.3% covered by glacier.Torkildsen (1984): 102–104
The landforms of Svalbard were created through repeated ice ages, when glaciers cut the former plateau into fjords, valleys, and mountains.Umbreit (2005): 4–6 The tallest peak is Newtontoppen (), followed by Perriertoppen (), Ceresfjellet (), Chadwickryggen (), and Galileotoppen (). The longest fjord is Wijdefjorden (), followed by Isfjorden (), Van Mijenfjorden (), Woodfjorden (), and Wahlenbergfjorden (). Svalbard is part of the High Arctic Large Igneous Province, and experienced Norway's strongest earthquake on 6 March 2009 at magnitude 6.5.
The first recorded landing on the islands of Svalbard dates to 1604, when an English ship landed at Bjørnøya, or Bear Island, and started hunting walrus. Annual expeditions soon followed, and Spitsbergen became a base for hunting the bowhead whale from 1611.Torkildsen (1984): 32Arlov (1996): 62 Because of the lawless nature of the area, England, Denmark, Netherlands, and France companies and authorities tried to use force to keep out other countries' fleets.Torkildsen (1984): 34–36Arlov (1996): 63–67
Norwegian hunting—mostly for walrus—started in the 1790s. The first Norwegian citizens to reach Spitsbergen proper were a number of Coast Sámi people from the Hammerfest region, who were hired as part of a Russian crew for an expedition in 1795.Carlheim-Gyllensköld (1900), p. 155
Discussions to establish the sovereignty of the archipelago commenced in the 1910s,Arlov (1996): 288 but were interrupted by World War I.Arlov (1996): 294 On 9 February 1920, following the Paris Peace Conference, the Svalbard Treaty was signed, granting full sovereignty to Norway. However, all signatory countries were granted non-discriminatory rights to fishing, hunting, and mineral resources.Arlov (1996): 305–306 The treaty took effect on 14 August 1925, at the same time as the Svalbard Act regulated the archipelago and the first governor, Johannes Gerckens Bassøe, took office.Arlov (1996): 319
The archipelago has traditionally been known as Spitsbergen, and the main island as West Spitsbergen. During the 1920s, Norway renamed the archipelago Svalbard, and the main island became Spitsbergen.Umbreit (2005): XI–XII Kvitøya, Kong Karls Land, Hopen, and Bjørnøya were not regarded as part of the Spitsbergen archipelago. Russians have traditionally called the archipelago Grumant (Грумант).Arlov (1996): 51 The Soviet Union retained the name Spitsbergen (Шпицберген) to support undocumented claims that Russians were the first to discover the island.Fløgstad (2007): 18Arlov (1996): 50
In 1928, Italian explorer Umberto Nobile and the crew of the airship Italia crashed on the icepack off the coast of Foyn Island. The subsequent rescue attempts were covered extensively in the press and Svalbard received short-lived fame as a result.Cross (2002): 84–85; 128–130
In July 1941, following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the Royal Navy reconnoitered the islands with a view to using them as a base of operations to send supplies to north Russia, but the idea was rejected as impractical.Roskill Vol I: 388 Instead, with the agreement of the Soviets and the Norwegian government in exile, in August 1941 the Norwegian and Soviet settlements on Svalbard were evacuated, and facilities there destroyed, in Operation Gauntlet.Arlov (1996): 397Roskill Vol I: 389 However, the Norwegian government in exile decided it would be important politically to establish a garrison in the islands, which was done in May 1942 during Operation Fritham.Roskill Vol II: 132–133
Meanwhile, the Germans responded to the destruction of the weather station by establishing a reporting station of their own, codenamed "Banso", in October 1941.Arlov (1996): 400 They were chased away in October by a visit from what the Germans mistook to be four British warships, but later returned.Dege (2004): XI A second station, "Knospe", was established at Ny-Ålesund in 1941, remaining until 1942. In May 1942, after the arrival of the Fritham force, the German unit at Banso was evacuated.Dege (2004): XI-XIII
In September 1943 in Operation Zitronella a German task force, which included the battleship Tirpitz, was sent to attack the garrison and destroy the settlements at Longyearbyen and Barentsburg.Arlov (1996): 402–403 This was achieved, but had little long-term effect: after their departure the Norwegians returned and re-established their presence.Roskill Vol III: 62
In September 1944, the Germans set up their last weather station, Operation Haudegen in Nordaustlandet; it functioned until after the German surrender. On 4 September 1945, the soldiers were picked up by a Norwegian seal hunting vessel and surrendered to its captain. This group of men were the last German troops to surrender after the Second World War.Dege (2004): 258
After the war, the Soviet Union proposed common Norwegian and Soviet administration and military defence of Svalbard. This was rejected in 1947 by Norway, which two years later joined NATO. The Soviet Union retained high civilian activity on Svalbard, in part to ensure that the archipelago was not used by NATO.Arlov (1996): 407–408
From 1964, Ny-Ålesund became a research outpost, and a facility for the European Space Research Organisation.Arlov (1996): 412 Petroleum test drilling was started in 1963 and continued until 1984, but no commercially viable fields were found.Torkildsen (1984): 261 From 1960, regular charter flights were made from the mainland to a field at Hotellneset;Tjomsland and Wilsberg (1995): 163 in 1975, Svalbard Airport, Longyearbyen opened, allowing year-round services.Tjomsland and Wilsberg (1995): 162–164
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union supplied about two-thirds of the population on the islands (Norwegians making up the remaining third) with the population of the archipelago slightly under 4,000. Russian activity has diminished considerably since then, falling from 2,500 to 450 people from 1990 to 2010. Grumant was closed after it was depleted in 1962.
Pyramiden was closed in 1998.Fløgstad (2007): 127 Coal exports from Barentsburg ceased in 2006 because of a fire, but resumed in 2010. The Russians experienced two air accidents: Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801 (1996), which killed 141 people, and the Heerodden helicopter accident (2008), which killed three people.
Longyearbyen remained purely a company town until 1989 when utilities, culture, and education was separated into Svalbard Samfunnsdrift.Arlov and Holm (2001): 49 In 1993, it was sold to the national government and the University Centre was established. Through the 1990s, tourism increased and the town developed an economy independent of Store Norske and mining. Longyearbyen was incorporated on 1 January 2002, adopting a community council.
On 30 June 2025 the Mine 7, the last Norwegian coal mine in Svalbard, was closed, though the mine in Barentsburg continued operation.
In mid-2023, there were 3,094 inhabitants on Spitsbergen, including 2,465 at Longyearbyen, 130 at Ny-Ålesund, and 10 (Polish) at the Hornsund (Isbjørnhamna) research station; there were 440 Russians at Barentsburg and some 50 at Pyramiden. There were no inhabitants on the other islands except for nine at the meteorological station on Bear Island (at Herwighamna) and four at the one on Hopen.
As of January 2025, there were 1691 Norwegians and 865 non-Norwegians living in Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund; there were 297 residents of Barentsburg and Pyramiden; and there were 10 residents of Hornsund.
Ny-Ålesund is a permanent research settlement in the northwest of Spitsbergen and the northernmost functional civilian settlement in the world. Formerly a mining town, it is still a company town operated by the Norwegian state-owned Kings Bay company. While some tourism to the outpost is permitted, Norwegian authorities limit access to minimize impact on scientific work. Ny-Ålesund has a winter population of 35 and a summer population of 180. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute has outposts at Bjørnøya and Hopen, with nine and four inhabitants respectively. Both can also house temporary research staff. Poland operates the Polish Polar Station at Hornsund, with ten permanent residents.
The Russian (formerly Soviet) mining settlement of Pyramiden was abandoned in 1998, leaving Barentsburg as the only permanently inhabited Russian settlement. It is a company town: all facilities are owned by Arktikugol, which operates a coal mine. In addition to the mining facilities, Arktikugol has opened a hotel and souvenir shop, catering to tourists taking day trips or hikes from Longyearbyen.
The village features a school, library, sports center, community center, swimming pool, farm, and greenhouse. Pyramiden features similar facilities; both are built in typical post-World War II Soviet architectural and planning style and contain the world's two most northerly Lenin statues and other socialist realist art.Umbreit (2005): 94–203 , about 48 workers are stationed in the largely abandoned Pyramiden to maintain local infrastructure and run its hotel, which has been re-opened to tourism.
Svalbard is not governed by Norway's policies on migration and does not issue visas or residence permits itself. Foreigners do not need a visa or work and residence permits from the Norwegian authorities to travel to Svalbard. However, foreign citizens with a visa requirement for the Schengen Area must have a Schengen visa when travelling to and from Svalbard via mainland Norway.
The Svalbard Act established the institution of the Governor of Svalbard (, formerly ), who holds the responsibility as both county governor and chief of police, as well as holding other authority granted from the executive branch. Duties include environmental policy, family law, law enforcement, search and rescue, tourism management, information services, contact with foreign settlements, and judge in some areas of maritime inquiries and judicial examinations—albeit never in the same cases as acting as police. Since 2021, Lars Fause has been governor. The institution is subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and the Police, but reports to other ministries in matters within their portfolio.
Since 2002, Longyearbyen Community Council has had many of the same responsibilities of a municipality, including utilities, education, cultural facilities, fire department, roads, and ports. No care or nursing services are available, nor are welfare payments available. Norwegian residents retain pension and medical rights through their mainland municipalities. The hospital is part of University Hospital of North Norway, while the airport is operated by state-owned Avinor. Ny-Ålesund and Barentsburg remain with all infrastructure owned by Kings Bay and Arktikugol. Other public offices with presence on Svalbard are the Norwegian Directorate of Mining, the Norwegian Polar Institute, the Norwegian Tax Administration, and the Church of Norway. Svalbard is subordinate to Nord-Troms District Court and Hålogaland Court of Appeal, both in Tromsø.
Although Norway is part of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the Schengen Agreement, Svalbard is not part of the Schengen Area or the EEA. Non-EU and non-Nordic Svalbard residents do not need Schengen visas for Svalbard itself, but those travelling via mainland Norway require visas to pass through Norway. People without a source of income can be rejected by the governor.
No one is required to have a visa or residence permit on Svalbard. Regardless of citizenship, persons can live and work in Svalbard indefinitely. The Svalbard Treaty grants treaty nationals equal right of abode as Norwegian nationals. So far, non-treaty nationals have been admitted visa-free as well. While there is no visa requirement, everyone must meet certain requirements in order to stay in Svalbard. These requirements are governed by a separate policy called "Regulations relating to rejection and expulsion of persons from Svalbard". Among the requirements is that residents must have the means to be able to reside on Svalbard. These requirements apply to both foreigners and Norwegian citizens, and the Governor of Svalbard may reject persons who do not meet the requirements. Russia retains a consulate in Barentsburg.
In September 2010, a treaty was signed between Russia and Norway fixing the boundary between the Svalbard archipelago and the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. Increased interest in petroleum exploration in the Arctic raised interest in a resolution of the dispute. The agreement takes into account the relative positions of the archipelagos, rather than being based simply on northward extension of the continental border of Norway and Russia. "Russia and Norway Agree on Boundary" article by Andrew E. Kramer in The New York Times 15 September 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2010
In the 2020s, in order to strengthen Norway's ability to enforce its claims around the archipelago, the Norwegian Coast Guard embarked on a significant modernization program. As of 2023, the Coast Guard is replacing its older s with significantly larger ice-capable ships, each displacing just under 10,000 tonnes. The three new s are armed with a main gun and are capable of operating up to two medium-sized helicopters. The ships have a maximum speed of with more than 60 days endurance and the complement is up to 100 people. The first ship, KV Jan Mayen, was delivered in early 2023. These vessels will complement which predominantly serves Svalbard and the surrounding waters. In 2023, Norway also announced the acquisition of six MH-60R helicopters which are to be initially deployed with the Coast Guard, though they are to be prepared to be equipped for anti-submarine operations as well. The Royal Norwegian Navy patrols waters of the Svalbard Archipelago at least once a year with a .
The Royal Norwegian Air Force fleet of Boeing P-8 Poseidons stationed at Evenes Air Station on the mainland have capacity for surveillance of the Svalbard Archipelago as part of the surveillance of the Barents Sea. The F-35s of the Royal Norwegian Air Force stationed at Evenes Air Station has range to patrol over parts of the Svalbard Archipelago, and could also be stationed further north at Banak Air Station if deemed necessary.
With the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, tensions in the Arctic have increased. In January 2022, an undersea telecommunications cable connecting Svalbard with mainland Norway was damaged. Norwegian suspicions fell on a Russian trawler as the only vessel in the area at the time. The investigation was nevertheless reported as inconclusive. In 2022, Russia announced new investment plans to support its presence at Barentsburg and Pyramiden.
In 2006, the average income for economically active people was 494,700 kroner, 23% higher than on the mainland. Almost all housing is owned by the various employers and institutions and rented to their employees; there are only a few privately owned houses, most of which are recreational cabins. Because of this, it is difficult to live on Svalbard without working for an established institution.
Since the resettlement of Svalbard in the early 20th century, coal mining has been the dominant commercial activity. Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani, a subsidiary of the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry, operates Svea Nord in Sveagruva and Mine 7 in Longyearbyen. The former produced 20 million from the period 2001–2009, while the latter uses 35% of its output to fuel the Longyearbyen Power Station. In March 2020, the Sveagruva mining settlement was shut down due to budget related issues and efforts to clean up after coal mining in Svalbard.
Since 2007, there has not been any significant mining by the Russian state-owned Arktikugol in Barentsburg. The Gruve 7 mine shut down in June 2025.
There has been test drilling for petroleum on land, but these did not give satisfactory results for permanent operation. Norwegian authorities do not allow offshore petroleum activities for environmental reasons, and the land formerly test-drilled have been protected as natural reserves or national parks. In 2011, a 20-year plan to develop offshore oil and gas resources around Svalbard was announced.
Svalbard has historically been a base for both whaling and fishing. Norway claimed a exclusive economic zone (EEZ) around Svalbard in 1977, with of internal waters and of EEZ. Norway retains a restrictive fisheries policy in the zone, and the claims are disputed by Russia.
Tourism is focused on the environment and is centered on Longyearbyen. Activities include hiking, kayaking, walks through glacier caves, and snowmobile and dog-sled safaris. Cruise ships generate a significant portion of the traffic, including both stops by offshore vessels and expeditionary cruises starting and ending in Svalbard. Traffic is strongly concentrated between March and August; overnight stays have quintupled from 1991 to 2008, when there were 93,000 overnight stays.
In February 2024, Norway announced limits on tourism to favor protection of flora and fauna in the archipelago. Now, ships are limited to 200 passengers in protected areas, among other regulations, many of which concern the breaking of fast ice, use of vehicles on sea ice after 1 March, and marine traffic near walrus areas. There are 43 defined landing spots.
The Arctic World Archive, a huge digital archiving concern run by Norwegian private company Piql and the state-owned coal-mining company Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani, opened in March 2017. In mid-2020, it acquired its biggest customer in the form of GitHub, a subsidiary of Microsoft.
One source of income for the area was, until 2015, visiting cruise ships. The Norwegian government became concerned about large numbers of cruise ship passengers suddenly landing at small settlements such as Ny-Ålesund, which is conveniently close to the barren-yet-picturesque Magdalenefjorden. With the increasing size of the larger ships, up to 2,000 people can potentially appear in a community that normally numbers less than 40. As a result, the government severely restricted the size of cruise ships that may visit.
Unemployment is effectively nonexistent as there is no welfare spending.
The University Centre in Svalbard in Longyearbyen offers undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate courses to 350 students in various arctic sciences, particularly biology, geology, and geophysics. Courses are provided to supplement studies at mainland universities; there are no tuition fees and courses are held in English, with Norwegian and international students equally represented.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a seedbank to store seeds from as many of the world's crop varieties and their botanical wild relatives as possible. A cooperation between the government of Norway and the Global Crop Diversity Trust, the vault is cut into rock near Longyearbyen, keeping it at a natural and refrigerating the seeds to .
The Svalbard Undersea Cable System is a Optical fiber line from Svalbard to Harstad, needed for communicating with through Svalbard Satellite Station and installations in Ny-Ålesund.
Svalbard Airport, from Longyearbyen, is the only airport offering air transport off the archipelago. Scandinavian Airlines has daily scheduled services to Tromsø and Oslo. Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle also has a service between Oslo and Svalbard, operating three or four times a week; there are also irregular charter services to Russia. Finnair operated service from Helsinki Airport, operating three times per week between June and August 2016, but Norwegian authorities disallowed this route, citing the 1978 bilateral agreement on air traffic between Finland and Norway.
Lufttransport provides regular corporate charter services from Longyearbyen to Ny-Ålesund Airport, Hamnerabben, and Svea Airport for Kings Bay and Store Norske. These flights are generally not available to the public. There are in Barentsburg and Pyramiden, and helicopters are frequently used by the governor and to a lesser extent the mining company Arktikugol.
The West Spitsbergen Current, the northernmost branch of the North Atlantic Current system, moderates Svalbard's temperatures, particularly during winter. Winter temperatures in Svalbard are up to higher than those at similar latitudes in Russia and Canada. The warm Atlantic water keeps the surrounding waters open and navigable most of the year. The interior fjord areas and valleys, sheltered by the mountains, have larger temperature differences than the coast, giving about warmer summer temperatures and colder winter temperatures.Torkilsen (1984): 98–99
On the south of Spitsbergen, the temperature is slightly higher than further north and west. During winter, the temperature difference between south and north is typically , and about in summer. Bear Island has average temperatures even higher than the rest of the archipelago.
Svalbard is where cold polar air from the north and mild, wet sea air from the south meet, creating low pressure, changeable weather and strong winds, particularly in winter; in January, a strong breeze is registered 17% of the time at Isfjord Radio, but only 1% of the time in July. In summer, fog is common, particularly off the coast, with visibility under registered 20% of the time in July and 1% of the time in January, at Hopen and Bjørnøya.
Precipitation is frequent, but falls in small quantities, typically less than per year in western Spitsbergen. More rain falls on the uninhabited east side, where there can be more than . On average, Svalbard has lower humidity than other places in the Arctic Circle. The only places in the Arctic with a lower average are in mainland Norway, Sweden and Finland.
2016 was the warmest year on record at Svalbard Airport, with a remarkable mean temperature of , above the 1961–90 average, and more comparable to a location at the Arctic Circle. The coldest temperature of the year was as high as , warmer than the mean minimum in a normal January, February or March. In the same year, the number of days when there was rainfall equalled the number of days when there was snowfall, a significant deviation from the usual pattern whereby there would be at least twice as many snow days.
Global warming has resulted in noticeable climatic changes on Svalbard. Between 1970 and 2020, the average temperature on Svalbard rose by 4 degrees Celsius, and in the winter months by 7 degrees. On 25 July 2020, a new record temperature of was measured for the Svalbard archipelago, which is also the highest temperature ever recorded in the European part of the High Arctic; in addition, temperatures of over 20 degrees were measured four days in a row in July 2020.
As in large parts of the Arctic, the ice–albedo feedback effects can also be noticed on Svalbard: Due to the substantial ice melt, ice surfaces are transformed into open water, the darker surface of which absorbs more solar energy instead of reflecting it back; as a result, these waters heat up and further ice in the area melts faster and faster, creating more open waters, etc. A temperature increase of between 7 and 10 degrees is expected on Svalbard by the end of the century.
Polar bears are the iconic symbol of Svalbard, and one of the main tourist attractions.Torkildsen (1984): 174 The animals are protected and people moving outside the settlements are required to have appropriate scare devices to ward off attacks. They are also advised to carry a firearm for use as a last resort.Umbreit (2005): 132 In August 2011, a British schoolboy was killed and four others were injured by a polar bear. In July 2018, a polar bear was shot dead after it attacked and injured a polar bear guard leading tourists off a cruise ship. In August 2020, a Netherlands man was killed by a polar bear at a campsite in Longyearbyen. The polar bear was shot dead. In 2022, a polar bear attacked a France tourist, who suffered injuries to an arm. The bear left after shots had been fired. It was later euthanised following a professional assessment of its injuries.
As of 2021, Svalbard has around 300 resident polar bears. Svalbard and Franz Joseph Land share a common population of roughly 2,650 polar bears, with Kong Karls Land being the most important breeding ground.
The Svalbard reindeer ( R. tarandus platyrhynchus) is a distinct subspecies; although it was previously almost extinct, it can be legally hunted (as can Arctic fox). It has also been documented that polar bears, desperate for food, hunt and successfully kill Svalbard reindeer. There are limited numbers of domesticated animals in the Russian settlements.Torkildsen (1984): 165
About eighty species of bird are found on Svalbard, most of which are migratory. The Barents Sea is among the areas in the world with most seabirds, with about 20 million individuals during late summer. The most common are: little auk, northern fulmar, thick-billed murre, and black-legged kittiwake. Sixteen species are on the IUCN Red List. Particularly Bjørnøya, Storfjorden, Nordvest-Spitsbergen, and Hopen are important breeding ground for seabirds. The Arctic tern has the furthest migration, all the way to Antarctica.
Two songbirds migrate to Svalbard to breed: the snow bunting and the northern wheatear. Rock ptarmigan is the only bird to overwinter.Torkilsen (1984): 162 Remains of Predator X ( Pliosaurus funkei) from the Jurassic period were discovered here. It is one of the largest dinosaur-era ever found.
Svalbard has permafrost and tundra, including low, middle, and high Arctic vegetation. One hundred and sixty-five species of plants have been found on the archipelago. Only those areas which defrost in the summer are vegetated, which accounts for about 10% of the archipelago.Torkilsen (1984): 144 Vegetation is most abundant in Nordenskiöld Land, around Isfjorden and where affected by guano.Umbreit (2005): 29–30 While there is little precipitation, giving the archipelago a steppe climate, plants still have good access to water because the cold climate reduces evaporation.Torkilsen (1984): 101 The growing season is very short, and may last only a few weeks.Umbreit (2005): 32 The Svalbard poppy ( Papaver dahlianum) is the symbolic flower of Svalbard. About Svalbard: Flora , Sysselmannen.no, retrieved: 10 April 2018
There are seven national parks in Svalbard: Forlandet, Indre Wijdefjorden, Nordenskiöld Land, Nordre Isfjorden Land, Nordvest-Spitsbergen, Sassen-Bünsow Land and Sør-Spitsbergen. The archipelago has fifteen bird sanctuaries, one geotopic protected area and six nature reserves—with Nordaust-Svalbard and Søraust-Svalbard both being larger than any of the national parks. Most of the nature reserves and three of the national parks were created in 1973, with the remaining areas gaining protection in the 2000s. All human traces dating from before 1946 are automatically protected. The protected areas make up 65% of the archipelago. Svalbard is on Norway's tentative list for nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The total solar eclipse of 20 March 2015 included only Svalbard and the Faroe Islands in the band of totality.
There is a non-degree offering tertiary educational institution in Longyearbyen, University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), the northernmost tertiary school on Earth.
Sports
Association football is the most popular sport in Svalbard. There are three football pitches (one at Barentsburg), but no stadiums because of the small population. There is also an indoor hall adopted for multiple sports including futsal. Winter sports, such as skiing, snowmobiling and dog sledding, are popular. There is a multi-sport club, Svalbard Turn.
See also
Notes
Citations
Sources
(1995). 9788299040013 ISBN 9788299040013
External links
Categories: Archipelagoes Of Norway, Archipelagoes Of The Arctic Ocean, Integral Overseas Territories, Landforms Of The Barents Sea, Regions Of The Arctic, Subdivisions Of Norway, Demilitarized Zones, Concession Territories, 1590s In The Dutch Empire, 17th Century In The Dutch Empire, Maritime History Of The Dutch Republic
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