Longyearbyen weather in April

In April, Longyearbyen sees average daytime highs of -9°C and overnight lows near -13°C, with 23 mm of precipitation across 6.8 wet days and about 19.3 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about -11°C in the first days to -6°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time in April, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 18 min at the start of April to 24 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, April is Longyearbyen's 1st-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Longyearbyen's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-9°
8th warmest
Overnight low
-13°
5th coldest
Precipitation
23 mm
6.8 wet days
Daylight
18 h 54 min
2:30 AM – 9:25 PM
Cloud cover
77%
1st clearest
Wind
10 km/h
7th windiest
Solar energy
3.07 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Longyearbyen is town and administrative centre in Svalbard, Norway.

Density
10/km²
people per km²
Founded
1906

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in April

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about -11°C in the first days to -6°C by the end.

A typical April day in Longyearbyen reaches about -9°C in the afternoon and slips back to -13°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -16°C and -1°C. Set against its neighbours, April runs about 3°C warmer than March and about 6°C cooler than May.

-25°-20°-15°-10°-5°151015202530
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-12-16
2-11-16
3-11-16
4-11-15
5-11-15
6-11-15
7-10-15
8-10-14
9-10-14
10-10-14
11-10-14
12-9-14
13-9-13
14-9-13
15-9-13
16-9-13
17-8-12
18-8-12
19-8-12
20-8-12
21-8-12
22-7-11
23-7-11
24-7-11
25-7-11
26-7-10
27-6-10
28-6-10
29-6-10
30-6-9

How April really feels in Longyearbyen

Once humidity and wind are folded in, April averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 30 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
30
30 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

The story in April is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Longyearbyen weather by month

How April compares with the rest of the year at a glance. April is the 8th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-11° / -16°438.910.900.0
Feb-12° / -16°317.1910.0
Mar-12° / -17°358.410.2100.0
Apr-9° / -13°236.88.719.30.0
May-3° / -5°2167.7240.0
Jun / 1853.7240.0
Jul / 328.21.1240.7
Aug / 4092.222.80.3
Sep / -1°459.85.313.70.0
Oct-4° / -8°419.194.40.0
Nov-7° / -12°4710.312.200.0
Dec-10° / -14°459.711.900.0

Cloud cover in April

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time in April, the clearest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of April, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 77%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202530
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12179
22278
32278
42179
52179
62179
72278
82278
92278
102278
112377
122377
132377
142476
152476
162476
172674
182674
192674
202674
212674
222773
232773
242773
252674
262575
272575
282575
292476
302476

Chance of precipitation in April

Any precipitationSnow

Longyearbyen gets around 23 mm of rain and snow over 6.8 wet days in April. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 23% and peaks near 25% on the wettest days, and about 9 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%151015202530
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
12228
22228
32228
42329
52329
62330
72431
82431
92532
102533
112533
122533
132533
142433
152432
162331
172331
182230
192229
202229
212128
222128
232127
242127
252126
262126
272126
282126
292126
302226

Humidity in April

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of April feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, April lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202530
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100

Wind in April

Winds average 10 km/h in April.

Across April, daily wind ranges from about 9 km/h on the calmest days to 10 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202530
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
110calm
210calm
310calm
410calm
510calm
610calm
710calm
810calm
910calm
1010calm
1110calm
1210calm
1310calm
1410calm
1510calm
1610calm
1710calm
189calm
199calm
209calm
219calm
229calm
239calm
249calm
259calm
269calm
279calm
289calm
299calm
309calm

Sunrise & sunset in April

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 18 min at the start of April to 24 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202530
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.34:537:11
214.64:457:18
314.84:377:26
415.14:287:34
515.44:197:42
615.74:117:50
716.04:027:59
816.23:538:07
916.53:438:16
1016.93:348:25
1117.23:248:34
1217.53:148:43
1317.83:048:53
1418.22:539:03
1518.52:429:14
1618.92:309:25
1719.32:189:37
1819.82:049:50
1920.21:4910:04
2020.81:3310:20
2121.41:1410:39
2222.312:4811:05
2324.0
2424.0
2524.0
2624.0
2724.0
2824.0
2924.0
3024.0

Solar energy in April

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in April, about 3.07 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0 kWh/m² to a high of 5.97 kWh/m² in June across the year — April's 3.07 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

012345151015202530
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.8Dim
21.9Dim
32.0Moderate
42.1Moderate
52.1Moderate
62.2Moderate
72.3Moderate
82.4Moderate
92.5Moderate
102.6Moderate
112.6Moderate
122.7Moderate
132.8Moderate
142.9Moderate
153.0Moderate
163.1Moderate
173.2Moderate
183.3Moderate
193.4Moderate
203.5Moderate
213.6Moderate
223.7Moderate
233.8Moderate
243.8Moderate
253.9Moderate
264.0Bright
274.1Bright
284.2Bright
294.3Bright
304.3Bright
Planning a trip in April

Is April a good time to visit Longyearbyen?

Our two travel scores rate April for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

0.0
Sightseeing
3rd-best month of the year
Beach & pool
never really warm enough

April is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Longyearbyen.

What to pack for Longyearbyen in April

From April's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In April, Longyearbyen sees daytime highs around -9°C and nights near -13°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 7 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Longyearbyen in April

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in April peaks around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Longyearbyen peaks around June 18 at about 2 (moderate) — sun protection is rarely needed. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 0 (low).

The midday index never reaches 3, the level where the WHO starts recommending sun protection.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateLowJun 18UV 2Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb0Low
Mar0Low
Apr1Low
May2Low
Jun2Moderate
Jul2Low
Aug2Low
Sep0Low
Oct0Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Longyearbyen?

Longyearbyen sits at 78.2°N, 15.6°E, 1 m above sea level, in Svalbard and Jan Mayen. The nearest listed city is Alta, 945 km away.

Topography around Longyearbyen

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Longyearbyen.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Longyearbyen has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 485 m around an average of 113 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,061 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,255 m.

The land around Longyearbyen is covered by water (35%), bare terrain (30%) and moss and lichen (27%) within 3 km, bare terrain (31%), water (29%) and moss and lichen (22%) within 16 km, and snow and ice (30%), water (29%) and bare terrain (26%) within 80 km.

3 km
485 m
16 km
1,061 m
80 km
1,255 m
grasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewaterwetlandmoss and lichen
April weather nearby: Alta 945 km · Tromso 958 km · Tromsdalen 959 km · Harstad 1,048 km · Nikel 1,071 km · Zapolyarnyy 1,077 km · Lofoten 1,111 km · Polyarnyy 1,135 km

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Longyearbyen (78.2233°, 15.6469°, elevation 1 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).