At the edge of the world, Canada’s Alert Base endures a remarkable 136-day polar night, the longest in the world for a permanently inhabited location. Situated just 817 kilometers from the North Pole in Nunavut, this remote military and research facility experiences a complete absence of daylight from October 13th until February 27th. The constant darkness requires complete reliance on artificial lighting, impacting the biological clocks of those stationed there. Life is further challenged by extreme cold, with temperatures often dropping below -40°C, and a profound sense of isolation.
This stark reality of polar night is shared by other locations. Norway’s Svalbard and Jan Mayen archipelago experiences around 111 days without the sun. Tromsø, Norway, has 49 days of darkness. Utqiaġvik, Alaska, sees 65 days of continuous night. Murmansk, Russia, endures roughly 40 dark winter days. Ilulissat, Greenland, is steeped in deep twilight for weeks from late October. The most extreme example is the South Pole Station in Antarctica, which faces nearly six months of darkness from March to September. The Earth’s tilt is the scientific reason behind these extended periods of darkness, as the poles angle away from the sun during winter.