Longyearbyen weather in January

In January, Longyearbyen sees average daytime highs of -11°C and overnight lows near -16°C, with 43 mm of precipitation across 8.9 wet days and about 0 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -11°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 0 hours at the start of January to 0 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Longyearbyen's 5th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Longyearbyen's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-11°
10th warmest
Overnight low
-16°
3rd coldest
Precipitation
43 mm
8.9 wet days
Daylight
0 hours
— – —
Cloud cover
84%
5th clearest
Wind
12 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0 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 January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -11°C through the month.

A typical January day in Longyearbyen reaches about -11°C in the afternoon and slips back to -16°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -21°C and -2°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C cooler than December and on par with February.

-30°-20°-10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-11-16
2-11-16
3-11-16
4-11-16
5-11-16
6-11-15
7-11-15
8-11-16
9-11-16
10-11-16
11-11-16
12-11-16
13-11-16
14-11-16
15-11-16
16-11-16
17-11-16
18-11-16
19-11-16
20-11-16
21-11-16
22-11-16
23-11-16
24-12-16
25-12-16
26-12-16
27-12-16
28-12-16
29-12-16
30-12-16
31-12-16

How January really feels in Longyearbyen

Once humidity and wind are folded in, January averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 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
31
31 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

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

Longyearbyen weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 10th-warmest and 4th-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 January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 85%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
11585
21585
31486
41486
51486
61486
71486
81486
91486
101486
111486
121486
131486
141684
151684
161684
171684
181684
191684
201684
211585
221585
231585
241585
251585
261585
271486
281486
291486
301486
311486

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitationSnow

Longyearbyen gets around 43 mm of rain and snow over 8.9 wet days in January. 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 32% on the wettest days, and about 11 days bring snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
13037
23037
33137
43137
53137
63137
73137
83137
93238
103238
113238
123239
133239
143238
153138
163138
173037
183037
192936
202936
212835
222735
232734
242633
252533
262532
272431
282431
292430
302430
312430

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, January 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%151015202531
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
31100

Wind in January

Winds average 12 km/h in January, the windiest month of the year.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 12 km/h on the calmest days to 12 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
112light breeze
212light breeze
312light breeze
412light breeze
512light breeze
612light breeze
712light breeze
812light breeze
912light breeze
1012light breeze
1112light breeze
1212light breeze
1312calm
1412calm
1512calm
1612calm
1712calm
1812calm
1912calm
2012calm
2112calm
2212calm
2312calm
2412calm
2512calm
2612calm
2712calm
2812calm
2912calm
3012calm
3112calm

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 0 hours at the start of January to 0 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
110.0
120.0
130.0
140.0
150.0
160.0
170.0
180.0
190.0
200.0
210.0
220.0
230.0
240.0
250.0
260.0
270.0
280.0
290.0
300.0
310.0

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 0 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 — January's 0 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.0Dim
20.0Dim
30.0Dim
40.0Dim
50.0Dim
60.0Dim
70.0Dim
80.0Dim
90.0Dim
100.0Dim
110.0Dim
120.0Dim
130.0Dim
140.0Dim
150.0Dim
160.0Dim
170.0Dim
180.0Dim
190.0Dim
200.0Dim
210.0Dim
220.0Dim
230.0Dim
240.0Dim
250.0Dim
260.0Dim
270.0Dim
280.0Dim
290.0Dim
300.0Dim
310.0Dim
Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Longyearbyen?

Our two travel scores rate January 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

January is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Longyearbyen.

What to pack for Longyearbyen in January

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

In January, Longyearbyen sees daytime highs around -11°C and nights near -16°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Longyearbyen in January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January peaks around 0. 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
January 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).