Longyearbyen climate
Longyearbyen is warmest in July, with average highs of 8.2 °C, and coldest in March, when nights average -16 °C. November is the wettest month (48 mm) and June the driest (18 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Longyearbyen averages 432 mm of rain and 258 days below freezing.
Svalbard and Jan Mayen · population 2,368 · 1991–2020 normals
Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month
- Warmest month July 8.2 °C
- Coldest month March -16 °C
- Driest month June 18 mm
- Wettest month November 48 mm
- Least cloud April 77 % cloud
- Hottest on record July 20 °C
- Coldest on record February -36 °C
What to expectLongyearbyen through the year
Longyearbyen has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from -12 °C in March to 8.2 °C in July, a swing of 21 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 258 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 20 °C, in July.
Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 18 mm in June to 48 mm in November. There is no dry season to aim for.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | -11.0 °C | 44 mm | 83 % |
| February | -11.5 °C | 33 mm | 83 % |
| March | -11.6 °C | 36 mm | 81 % |
| April | -8.1 °C | 24 mm | 77 % |
| May | -1.6 °C | 22 mm | 79 % |
| June | 3.3 °C | 18 mm | 80 % |
| July | 8.2 °C | 32 mm | 84 % |
| August | 6.8 °C | 40 mm | 84 % |
| September | 2.4 °C | 46 mm | 87 % |
| October | -4.0 °C | 42 mm | 88 % |
| November | -6.8 °C | 48 mm | 86 % |
| December | -9.6 °C | 47 mm | 84 % |
Temperature month by month
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Mean | Record high | Record low | Days above 25 °C | Days above 30 °C | Days below 0 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | -11.0 °C | -15.8 °C | -13.4 °C | 4.1 °C | -34.6 °C | 0 | 0 | 31 |
| February | -11.5 °C | -16.3 °C | -13.9 °C | 2.8 °C | -36.2 °C | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| March | -11.6 °C | -16.3 °C | -13.9 °C | 2.9 °C | -35.9 °C | 0 | 0 | 31 |
| April | -8.1 °C | -12.4 °C | -10.0 °C | 3.4 °C | -27.0 °C | 0 | 0 | 29 |
| May | -1.6 °C | -4.6 °C | -2.8 °C | 6.2 °C | -16.4 °C | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| June | 3.3 °C | 1.5 °C | 2.5 °C | 11.7 °C | -5.7 °C | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| July | 8.2 °C | 5.2 °C | 6.8 °C | 20.1 °C | 0.4 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| August | 6.8 °C | 3.8 °C | 5.4 °C | 15.5 °C | -6.0 °C | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| September | 2.4 °C | -0.9 °C | 1.0 °C | 11.5 °C | -13.3 °C | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| October | -4.0 °C | -8.1 °C | -5.9 °C | 7.2 °C | -22.3 °C | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| November | -6.8 °C | -11.6 °C | -9.1 °C | 6.5 °C | -29.2 °C | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| December | -9.6 °C | -14.4 °C | -11.9 °C | 4.0 °C | -31.0 °C | 0 | 0 | 31 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44 mm | 9 | 0 h/day | 83 % | 80 % | 16 km/h |
| February | 33 mm | 7 | 0 h/day | 83 % | 80 % | 15 km/h |
| March | 36 mm | 9 | 11 h/day | 81 % | 79 % | 14 km/h |
| April | 24 mm | 7 | 21 h/day | 77 % | 80 % | 13 km/h |
| May | 22 mm | 6 | 24 h/day | 79 % | 81 % | 12 km/h |
| June | 18 mm | 5 | 24 h/day | 80 % | 85 % | 10 km/h |
| July | 32 mm | 7 | 24 h/day | 84 % | 82 % | 12 km/h |
| August | 40 mm | 9 | 24 h/day | 84 % | 84 % | 12 km/h |
| September | 46 mm | 10 | 14 h/day | 87 % | 88 % | 12 km/h |
| October | 42 mm | 9 | 6.6 h/day | 88 % | 86 % | 13 km/h |
| November | 48 mm | 10 | 0 h/day | 86 % | 83 % | 15 km/h |
| December | 47 mm | 10 | 0 h/day | 84 % | 80 % | 16 km/h |
Where Longyearbyen ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| The coolest places in Europe in April | 1st of 50 | -8.1 °C |
| The coolest places in Europe in August | 1st of 50 | 6.8 °C |
| The coolest places in Europe in July | 1st of 50 | 8.2 °C |
| The coolest places in Europe in June | 1st of 50 | 3.3 °C |
| The coolest places in Europe in May | 1st of 50 | -1.6 °C |
| The coolest places in Europe in October | 1st of 50 | -4.0 °C |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Longyearbyen.
QuestionsCommon questions about Longyearbyen’s climate
When is the best time to visit Longyearbyen?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. June, July, August sit closest to 20 °C on average, July is the warmest month and June the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Longyearbyen get?
In July, the warmest month, daily highs average 8.2 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 20 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average -16 °C in March, the coldest month. A normal year has 258 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Longyearbyen?
November, averaging 48 mm over 10 days with rain. The driest month is June with 18 mm. The year as a whole averages 432 mm.
Are these figures a forecast?
No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Longyearbyen rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.
Data sources and method
- ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
- Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
- NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
- GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0
- Normal period
- 1991–2020
- Data point
- 78.223°, 15.647° (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.
Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.