Stockholm hasn’t had a single hour of sunlight all month

Several parts of the country, including the capital Stockholm, have not seen a single hour of sunlight in December according to official measurements.

As well as Stockholm, the instruments in Karlstad, the Tarfala Valley in Kiruna and the northern cape of Öland failed to measure any sunlight this month, meteorologist Ulrika Elvgren said on Twitter. 

Typically, December in Sweden replaces the grey, cloudy weather of November with crisp coolness and clearer skies. But in many places that hasn't happened this year.

According to Aftonbladet, the last time sunlight was measured in Stockholm was November 28th, almost two weeks ago, while in Karlstad it was November 27th.

And these two cities are in the southern half of Sweden.

In the north, it will soon be polar night – the time of the year when the sun does not rise at all. 

Kiruna, the northernmost city, doesn't see sunrise between December 10th and New Year's Day. And at the northernmost point in the country, Treriksröset, the sun has already set for the last time this year, back in November, while the furthest inhabited village, Keinovuopio, ushered in the polar night on December 2nd.

It's not unprecedented for cities further south to experience the entire month of December with no hours of sunlight at all. This happened in Stockholm in 1934, but the good news is that would be very unusual.

Vocabulary

dark – mörk

cloudy – molnig

to measure – att mäta

polar night – (en) polarnatt

sunlight – (ett) solljus