Norway experiences some of the longest night hours in the world, particularly in its northernmost regions and the Svalbard archipelago, where the sun does not rise for several months during the winter, a phenomenon known as the polar night. Other areas experiencing extreme darkness include parts of Russia, Canada, Greenland, and Alaska.
Imagine nights that last 20 hours, and weeks without seeing the sun. That is real life in large areas of Northern Norway. And just imagine, many people who live in the north think that this is the finest time of the year, with fantastic skyscapes and magical lights.
Polar night is a phenomenon that occurs in the northernmost and southernmost regions of Earth when the Sun remains below the horizon for more than 24 hours. This only occurs inside the polar circles.
One such place is Svalbard, Norway. Here, the sun does not set for about 76 days during the summer. This means that there is no true night, only a period of twilight. Even at midnight, it is still light enough to read a book without a lamp.
This place is Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, closer to the North Pole than to Oslo. One of the northernmost inhabited regions on Earth.
A quarter of Finland's territory lies north of the Arctic Circle, and at the country's northernmost point the Sun does not set at all for 72 days during summer. In Svalbard, Norway, the northernmost inhabited region of Europe, there is no sunset from approximately 19 April to 23 August.
The discovery and exploration of Antarctica was shaped by the continent's remoteness and its extraordinarily inhospitable environment. These factors combined for centuries to keep humans away from all but the subantarctic islands and parts of the Southern Ocean where whaling and sealing took place.
The Polar Night occurs in the northern hemisphere from around the latitude of 72°34' and northwards and does so when the sun never rises past 6 degrees or more below the horizon. In Svalbard, the Polar Night lasts from around November 14th to January 29th and is defined as a “Civil Polar Night”.
Five of the top 10 nightlife cities are in Europe, with Paris, Prague, Tbilisi, and Budapest joining Barcelona on the list, while Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Yerevan, and Bali round out the global ranking.
'300 Sunny Days: #Malta 🇲🇹 typically enjoys well over 300 sunny days per year, making it one of the sunniest countries in Europe. #Armenia's capital, Yerevan, 🇦🇲 is particularly sunny, with an average of around 300 days of sunshine annually and about 3886 hours of sunshine throughout the year.
In the North of the world, only 1000 km from the pole, lies the small town of Longyearbyen. Settled by pioneers, adventurers, miners, scientists, it is plunged into complete darkness for 4 months. This is where human beings live the longest in the dark.
With a total area of 6,592,846 square miles (17,075,400 square km), Russia is the world's largest country. A distant second is Canada, with 3,848,758 square miles (9,968,242 square km). At the opposite end is Vatican City, which is the world's smallest country.
It turns out we need the darkness to make our immune systems work. Scientists have now discovered that only when it's really dark can your body produce the hormone called melatonin. Melatonin fights diseases, including breast and prostate cancer.
The winter solstice is the day of the year with the fewest hours of daylight. In the northern hemisphere this date falls in December every year. In 2025 the winter solstice will occur on Sunday 21 December.
'' The winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year and the longest night of year. Once it has reached this lowest point, an interesting thing happens: the sun appears to stop moving south for three days. After this, the sun moves 1° north, announcing the coming of spring.
About 98% of Antarctica's surface is covered by the massive Antarctic ice sheet, a continental glacier containing about 90% of the world's ice, averaging over a mile thick in places and holding 70% of the planet's fresh water. The only ice-free areas are some coastal rocks, mountains (nunataks), and valleys like the McMurdo Dry Valleys, notes AntarcticGlaciers.org.
Svalbard. Halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, you'll find the Svalbard Islands where the polar bears reside. Here, you can really talk about an endless day – the sun patrols the sky in almost uniform circles all summer.
