Longyearbyen weather in August

In August, Longyearbyen sees average daytime highs of 5°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 40 mm of precipitation across 9 wet days and about 22.8 hours of daylight. It is the 2nd-warmest and 6th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 7°C in the first days to 4°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 5% of the time in August, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 24 hours at the start of August to 18 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, August is Longyearbyen's 7th-clearest and 11th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Longyearbyen's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 5°; 2nd warmest
Overnight low: 3°; 11th coldest
Precipitation: 40 mm; 9 wet days
Daylight: 24 hours; — – —
Cloud cover: 85%; 7th clearest
Wind: 9 km/h; 11th windiest
Solar energy: 2.5 kWh/m²
Travel score: 0.3; 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.

← July Longyearbyen year-round climate September →Best places to visit in August

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in August

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 7°C in the first days to 4°C by the end.

A typical August day in Longyearbyen reaches about 5°C in the afternoon and slips back to 3°C overnight — a 3°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 3°C and 8°C. Set against its neighbours, August runs about 1°C cooler than July and about 4°C warmer than September.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Avg low (°C)	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	7	4
2	7	4
3	7	4
4	7	4
5	7	4
6	7	4
7	6	4
8	6	4
9	6	4
10	6	4
11	6	3
12	6	3
13	6	3
14	6	3
15	6	3
16	5	3
17	5	3
18	5	3
19	5	3
20	5	2
21	5	2
22	5	2
23	5	2
24	5	2
25	4	2
26	4	2
27	4	2
28	4	1
29	4	1
30	4	1
31	4	1

How August really feels in Longyearbyen

Once humidity and wind are folded in, August averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 13 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

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

Longyearbyen weather by month

How August compares with the rest of the year at a glance. August is the 2nd-warmest and 6th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	-11° / -16°	43	8.9	10.9	0	0.0
Feb	-12° / -16°	31	7.1	9	1	0.0
Mar	-12° / -17°	35	8.4	10.2	10	0.0
Apr	-9° / -13°	23	6.8	8.7	19.3	0.0
May	-3° / -5°	21	6	7.7	24	0.0
Jun	2° / 1°	18	5	3.7	24	0.0
Jul	7° / 4°	32	8.2	1.1	24	0.7
Aug	5° / 3°	40	9	2.2	22.8	0.3
Sep	1° / -1°	45	9.8	5.3	13.7	0.0
Oct	-4° / -8°	41	9.1	9	4.4	0.0
Nov	-7° / -12°	47	10.3	12.2	0	0.0
Dec	-10° / -14°	45	9.7	11.9	0	0.0

Cloud cover in August

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 5% of the time in August.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 8% of August, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 87%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	10	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	14	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15
Cloudier (%)	88	88	89	89	89	89	89	90	89	89	89	89	89	88	88	88	88	88	87	87	86	85	85	85	85	85	85	85	85	85	85

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	12	88
2	12	88
3	11	89
4	11	89
5	11	89
6	11	89
7	11	89
8	10	90
9	11	89
10	11	89
11	11	89
12	11	89
13	11	89
14	12	88
15	12	88
16	12	88
17	12	88
18	12	88
19	13	87
20	13	87
21	14	86
22	15	85
23	15	85
24	15	85
25	15	85
26	15	85
27	15	85
28	15	85
29	15	85
30	15	85
31	15	85

Chance of precipitation in August

Any precipitationSnow

Longyearbyen gets around 40 mm of rain and snow over 9 wet days in August. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 29% and peaks near 35% on the wettest days, and about 2 days bring snow. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	22	23	23	23	24	24	25	25	26	26	27	28	28	29	29	29	30	30	30	31	31	32	32	33	33	34	34	35	35	35	35
Snow chance (%)	3	3	3	3	4	4	5	5	5	6	6	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	11	11	11

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	22	3
2	23	3
3	23	3
4	23	3
5	24	4
6	24	4
7	25	5
8	25	5
9	26	5
10	26	6
11	27	6
12	28	7
13	28	7
14	29	7
15	29	8
16	29	8
17	30	8
18	30	8
19	30	8
20	31	8
21	31	8
22	32	9
23	32	9
24	33	9
25	33	9
26	34	10
27	34	10
28	35	10
29	35	11
30	35	11
31	35	11

Humidity in August

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

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

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in August

Winds average 9 km/h in August.

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

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	9	calm
2	9	calm
3	9	calm
4	9	calm
5	9	calm
6	9	calm
7	9	calm
8	9	calm
9	9	calm
10	9	calm
11	9	calm
12	9	calm
13	9	calm
14	9	calm
15	9	calm
16	9	calm
17	9	calm
18	9	calm
19	9	calm
20	9	calm
21	9	calm
22	9	calm
23	9	calm
24	9	calm
25	9	calm
26	9	calm
27	9	calm
28	9	calm
29	9	calm
30	9	calm
31	9	calm

Sunrise & sunset in August

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 24 hours at the start of August to 18 h 12 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	24.0	22.3	21.4	20.8	20.2	19.8	19.3	18.9	18.5	18.2
Sunrise (AM)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	12:52	1:17	1:36	1:52	2:06	2:19	2:30	2:42	2:52
Sunset (PM)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	11:08	10:42	10:23	10:06	9:52	9:38	9:26	9:14	9:03

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	24.0	—	—
2	24.0	—	—
3	24.0	—	—
4	24.0	—	—
5	24.0	—	—
6	24.0	—	—
7	24.0	—	—
8	24.0	—	—
9	24.0	—	—
10	24.0	—	—
11	24.0	—	—
12	24.0	—	—
13	24.0	—	—
14	24.0	—	—
15	24.0	—	—
16	24.0	—	—
17	24.0	—	—
18	24.0	—	—
19	24.0	—	—
20	24.0	—	—
21	24.0	—	—
22	24.0	—	—
23	22.3	12:52	11:08
24	21.4	1:17	10:42
25	20.8	1:36	10:23
26	20.2	1:52	10:06
27	19.8	2:06	9:52
28	19.3	2:19	9:38
29	18.9	2:30	9:26
30	18.5	2:42	9:14
31	18.2	2:52	9:03

Solar energy in August

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in August, about 2.5 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 — August's 2.5 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	3.4	3.3	3.2	3.2	3.1	3.1	3.0	3.0	2.9	2.8	2.8	2.7	2.7	2.6	2.5	2.5	2.4	2.4	2.3	2.3	2.2	2.2	2.1	2.0	2.0	1.9	1.9	1.8	1.8	1.7	1.7
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	3.4	Moderate
2	3.3	Moderate
3	3.2	Moderate
4	3.2	Moderate
5	3.1	Moderate
6	3.1	Moderate
7	3.0	Moderate
8	3.0	Moderate
9	2.9	Moderate
10	2.8	Moderate
11	2.8	Moderate
12	2.7	Moderate
13	2.7	Moderate
14	2.6	Moderate
15	2.5	Moderate
16	2.5	Moderate
17	2.4	Moderate
18	2.4	Moderate
19	2.3	Moderate
20	2.3	Moderate
21	2.2	Moderate
22	2.2	Moderate
23	2.1	Moderate
24	2.0	Moderate
25	2.0	Dim
26	1.9	Dim
27	1.9	Dim
28	1.8	Dim
29	1.8	Dim
30	1.7	Dim
31	1.7	Dim

Planning a trip in August

Is August a good time to visit Longyearbyen?

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

0.3

Sightseeing

2nd-best month of the year

—

Beach & pool

never really warm enough

August is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Longyearbyen.

What to pack for Longyearbyen in August

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

In August, Longyearbyen sees daytime highs around 5°C and nights near 3°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Longyearbyen in August

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in August peaks around 2. 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.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	0	0	0	1	2	2	2	2	0	0	0	0
Level	Low	Low	Low	Low	Low	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Low	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	0	Low
Feb	0	Low
Mar	0	Low
Apr	1	Low
May	2	Low
Jun	2	Moderate
Jul	2	Low
Aug	2	Low
Sep	0	Low
Oct	0	Low
Nov	0	Low
Dec	0	Low

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

water 35%

16 km

1,061 m

bare terrain 31%

80 km

1,255 m

snow and ice 30%

grasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewaterwetlandmoss and lichen

← July Longyearbyen year-round climate September →Best places to visit in August

August 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).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	7	4
2	7	4
3	7	4
4	7	4
5	7	4
6	7	4
7	6	4
8	6	4
9	6	4
10	6	4
11	6	3
12	6	3
13	6	3
14	6	3
15	6	3
16	5	3
17	5	3
18	5	3
19	5	3
20	5	2
21	5	2
22	5	2
23	5	2
24	5	2
25	4	2
26	4	2
27	4	2
28	4	1
29	4	1
30	4	1
31	4	1

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	12	88
2	12	88
3	11	89
4	11	89
5	11	89
6	11	89
7	11	89
8	10	90
9	11	89
10	11	89
11	11	89
12	11	89
13	11	89
14	12	88
15	12	88
16	12	88
17	12	88
18	12	88
19	13	87
20	13	87
21	14	86
22	15	85
23	15	85
24	15	85
25	15	85
26	15	85
27	15	85
28	15	85
29	15	85
30	15	85
31	15	85

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	22	3
2	23	3
3	23	3
4	23	3
5	24	4
6	24	4
7	25	5
8	25	5
9	26	5
10	26	6
11	27	6
12	28	7
13	28	7
14	29	7
15	29	8
16	29	8
17	30	8
18	30	8
19	30	8
20	31	8
21	31	8
22	32	9
23	32	9
24	33	9
25	33	9
26	34	10
27	34	10
28	35	10
29	35	11
30	35	11
31	35	11

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	7	4
2	7	4
3	7	4
4	7	4
5	7	4
6	7	4
7	6	4
8	6	4
9	6	4
10	6	4
11	6	3
12	6	3
13	6	3
14	6	3
15	6	3
16	5	3
17	5	3
18	5	3
19	5	3
20	5	2
21	5	2
22	5	2
23	5	2
24	5	2
25	4	2
26	4	2
27	4	2
28	4	1
29	4	1
30	4	1
31	4	1

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	12	88
2	12	88
3	11	89
4	11	89
5	11	89
6	11	89
7	11	89
8	10	90
9	11	89
10	11	89
11	11	89
12	11	89
13	11	89
14	12	88
15	12	88
16	12	88
17	12	88
18	12	88
19	13	87
20	13	87
21	14	86
22	15	85
23	15	85
24	15	85
25	15	85
26	15	85
27	15	85
28	15	85
29	15	85
30	15	85
31	15	85

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	22	3
2	23	3
3	23	3
4	23	3
5	24	4
6	24	4
7	25	5
8	25	5
9	26	5
10	26	6
11	27	6
12	28	7
13	28	7
14	29	7
15	29	8
16	29	8
17	30	8
18	30	8
19	30	8
20	31	8
21	31	8
22	32	9
23	32	9
24	33	9
25	33	9
26	34	10
27	34	10
28	35	10
29	35	11
30	35	11
31	35	11

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	7	4
2	7	4
3	7	4
4	7	4
5	7	4
6	7	4
7	6	4
8	6	4
9	6	4
10	6	4
11	6	3
12	6	3
13	6	3
14	6	3
15	6	3
16	5	3
17	5	3
18	5	3
19	5	3
20	5	2
21	5	2
22	5	2
23	5	2
24	5	2
25	4	2
26	4	2
27	4	2
28	4	1
29	4	1
30	4	1
31	4	1

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	12	88
2	12	88
3	11	89
4	11	89
5	11	89
6	11	89
7	11	89
8	10	90
9	11	89
10	11	89
11	11	89
12	11	89
13	11	89
14	12	88
15	12	88
16	12	88
17	12	88
18	12	88
19	13	87
20	13	87
21	14	86
22	15	85
23	15	85
24	15	85
25	15	85
26	15	85
27	15	85
28	15	85
29	15	85
30	15	85
31	15	85

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	22	3
2	23	3
3	23	3
4	23	3
5	24	4
6	24	4
7	25	5
8	25	5
9	26	5
10	26	6
11	27	6
12	28	7
13	28	7
14	29	7
15	29	8
16	29	8
17	30	8
18	30	8
19	30	8
20	31	8
21	31	8
22	32	9
23	32	9
24	33	9
25	33	9
26	34	10
27	34	10
28	35	10
29	35	11
30	35	11
31	35	11

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100