MØRKETIDEN – THE POLAR NIGHT

The polar night, known as the ‘mørketid’ in Norwegian, is the period of winter in the arctic circle where the sun no longer rises above the horizon. For Lofoten, this is approximately December 7 – January 5.

In ideal circumstances, when the sky is clear, a few hours of a soft pink twilight fills the sky over Lofoten, with a noticeably bright horizon to the south. In other words, the whole day is more or less a 2-3 hour sunrise-sunset.

Snow is not always reliable in December, but when it is present, it adds brightness and light to the landscape, especially as the sky transitions into the blue hour, the mountains can almost appear to be glowing from within. If the sky is cloudy, then even noon will feel quite dark during this period. On the solstice, around December 21, it is more or less fully dark by around 14:00 in the afternoon.

Unless you are specifically traveling to the arctic to experience the polar night, it is not the best time of year here on Lofoten. The low light severely limits photography or other outdoor activities and most of your time will be spent indoors – which might sound cozy for a few days, but after a week of non-stop storms as you stare out the windows into darkness, you’ll likely be wondering if you maybe should have gone somewhere else.

Lofoten’s famous twilight light still occurs during the following months, it is just separated by more and more daylight in-between. Additionally, the long nights don’t specifically increase the chances of northern lights either, though they may occasionally occur at 16:00 in the afternoon, they typically don’t show appear until later in the evening under regular solar activity.