Polar night and midnight sun in Longyearbyen

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Longyearbyen lies at about 78 degrees north, far enough for both extremes. The dates below come from the US Naval Observatory, calculated for the town's coordinates and a flat horizon. They differ by days or weeks from the figures Visit Svalbard publishes, mainly because the two use different definitions, and in town the mountains add their own delay.

The polar night in 2026 and 2027

The last sunrise of 2026 is on 26 October, and the sun stays up for just 57 minutes. From 27 October 2026 to 15 February 2027 it remains below the horizon all day, 112 days in a row. For the first two weeks or so there is still a band of twilight around midday. On 12 November it lasts less than half an hour, and from 13 November 2026 to 29 January 2027 the sun stays more than six degrees below the horizon even at noon, so there is no civil twilight at all. Twilight returns on 30 January, and the first sunrise above a flat horizon follows on 16 February 2027.

Visit Svalbard gives the polar night as 11 November to 30 January. That period roughly matches the 78 days without twilight, while the astronomical figure counts every day without a sunrise. Its English pages describe the polar night as running from mid-November to late January, and Visit Svalbard notes that Svalbard is the only place in Norway with a polar night of this kind. Neither set of dates is wrong; they describe different things.

The weeks before and after the darkest phase have their own name. Visit Svalbard calls 1 October to 10 November and the whole of February blåtid, the blue time.

When the sun comes back to town

Astronomically, the sun rises again on 16 February. In Longyearbyen itself you will not see it until around 8 March, because the mountains around the valley hide the low sun. The town declares the sun back when its rays reach the steps of the old hospital. Residents gather there to mark the return, and the event is the centre of Sun Festival Week in early March, with concerts, revues and an outdoor church service.

The cold peaks after the dark. At the airport weather station, the 1991 to 2020 averages are minus 10.9 °C in January, minus 11.6 °C in February and minus 12.0 °C in March. Store norske leksikon notes that February or March is usually the coldest month in Svalbard.

Sunrise and sunset through the year

Times below are from USNO for 78.22° N, 15.63° E, in UTC+1 for the winter dates and UTC+2 from April to October.

The midnight sun in 2027

Daylight grows fast in spring. From 19 April to 24 August 2027 the sun stays above the horizon around the clock, 128 days in total. Even before and after that, the nights no longer get properly dark; on 18 April and still on 1 September 2027 the sun never sinks below the twilight limit. Visit Svalbard gives the midnight sun as 20 April to 23 August, a day shorter at each end, which comes down to rounding and definitions rather than a real disagreement.

Visit Svalbard splits the year into three seasons: polar summer, northern lights winter and sunny winter. By Visit Svalbard's calendar the midnight sun starts in the sunny winter and continues through the polar summer. The four months of constant light affect the body clock of people and animals alike, Visit Svalbard notes, so bring an eye mask if you sleep badly in daylight.

What the dark season is like to visit

The polar night is quieter than other times of year. In 2025 November had the fewest guest nights of any month, according to Visit Svalbard's statistics, while March and July were the busiest. A reflective vest helps on dark roads, and the tourist information centre lends them out in winter.

Darkness is also when the northern lights show best. Visit Svalbard's northern lights winter runs from October to the end of February, and Longyearbyen is so far north that, with luck, you can see the aurora in the middle of the day during the polar night. Away from the town's lights fainter displays become visible, but leaving the settlement means going with a guide because of polar bears.

The short car tour picks you up at your accommodation and drives to dark spots chosen by the forecast, with hot drinks and light snacks. Winter clothing is not provided. Several reviewers saw little or no aurora; no tour can promise a display. The four-hour photography tour helps you set up your camera; one reviewer found it aimed more at phone pictures than at serious photography.

If you want to drive yourself, a polar night snowmobile ride covers 40 to 50 km through Adventdalen to a pingo, an ice-cored hill, in about 3.5 hours. You need a driving licence, and the tour has no reviews yet.

For dates and seasons beyond the light, see the best time to visit, and for the aurora itself, our page on northern lights tours.