Have you ever wondered what would be the climate like in the northernmost part of Norway that lies contiguous to the Arctic Circle? Freezingly cold would seem an understatement, bone-chillingly frigid will be the aptest description. There is no place better than Longyearbyen to get this unique experience.
Image Courtesy Of Kim G. SkytteThe world’s northernmost settlement It is no wonder that Longyearbyen, a town that qualifies for the world’s northernmost settlement, has only 2,144 individuals, as per the December 2015 census. The town is the administrative center of Svalbard, where the governor of Svalbard and his administrative office is located.
When John Longyear founded this town in 1906 to set up his Arctic Coal Company, he called it Longyear City. Later the name got translated into its current Norwegian name. The mining operations commenced with around 500 workers in extreme conditions. Even today you can find the debris of the abandoned mines and shipping containers strewn around.
Image Courtesy Of Aslak TronrudThe desolate and bleak, yet somehow beautiful, setting of Longyearbyen, with the tongues of two glaciers – Longyearbreen and Lars Hjertabreen – as its backdrop, displays colorful wooden houses that stand on stilts due to permafrost.
Permafrost is typical of this region, in which the soil remains permanently frozen all the year round. The stilts serve a purpose. When the upper layers of 10 to 40-meter deep permafrost melt each summer, the stilts save the houses from flooding due to melted ice and sinking.
