Today, Svalbard is the warmest place in Norway
On January 8, the only place in Norway that recorded temperatures above zero °C was the far northern archipelago of Svalbard.
A wave of cold weather is moving over the Norwegian mainland with temperatures dropping to below minus 30.
At the same time, the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard is experiencing an opposite situation. On January 8, several weather stations reported temperatures above zero.
"Today, Svalbard is the warmest place in the country!" The Norwegian Meteorological Service reports.
I dag er det Svalbard som er varmest i landet! Kun der finner vi plussgrader 👀📈
Grunnen er et lavtrykk mellom Spitsbergen og Nordpolen som gir mild vind fra vest over øygruppen. I tillegg blokkerer et høytrykk ved Bjørnøya kaldlufta, slik at den blir liggende lenger sør.Se melding på Yr · I dag kl. 12:30
The reason is a low-pressure system between Spitsbergen and the North Pole, which brings mild winds from the west over the archipelago, the meteorologists explain.
In addition, a high-pressure system near Bjørnøya blocks the cold air, causing it to remain further south.
The weather abnormality notwithstanding, the general trend is a dramatic warming in the region. The year 2025 was the warmest year on record in the Nordic country.
A new report from the Meteorological Service shows that the land temperature was 1,5 degrees above the normal temperature in today's climate (1991-2020 normal). If compared with the pre-industrial era (1871-1900), it was 2,8 degrees warmer in 2025.
For the first time on record, all 12 months of the year were warmer than normal.
"The high temperatures are strongly linked to man-made climate change," the meteorologists emphasise.
