About Svalbard

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.[23] In Longyearbyen, midnight sun lasts from 20 April until 23 August, and polar night lasts from 26 October to 15 February.[19] In winter, the combination of full moon and reflective snow can give additional light.[23] Due to the Earth's tilt and the high latitude, Svalbard has extensive twilights. Longyearbyen sees the first and last day of polar night 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, and the Swedish-Norwegian mining outpost of Sveagruva (which closed in 2020).[9] Other settlements lie farther north, but are populated only by rotating groups of researchers. No roads connect the settlements; instead snowmobiles, aircraft and boats provide inter-settlement transport. Svalbard Airport serves as the main gateway. Approximately 60% of the archipelago is covered with glaciers.