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5 Countries on Earth with the Longest Days and Nights

Explore five countries—Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, and the USA (Alaska)—that experience some of the longest days and nights on Earth due to polar day and polar night phenomena.

September 25, 2025 / 12:44 IST
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The daylight will be dramatically different at the poles of the earth, where during the summer months, there are extremely long days when the sun sets very late and in the winter months, very early, the sun rises very late. Five countries that are notable in these extremes are given here.

Norway

The north of Norway and such places as Svalbard are located much above the Arctic Circle and therefore in summer the sun may remain above the horizon for months. During winter, residents, on the other hand, experience more hours of darkness. As an example, in such locations as Longyearbyen on Svalbard, polar night can last several weeks, and even the sun can take longer to rise at midnight.

Iceland

Though a large part of Iceland is only a short way south of the Arctic Circle, in the north (including both islands and mainland), the impact of long summer days and very short winter ones is felt. During midsummer, twilight can be experienced throughout the night, and in winter, the daylight hours are very minimal.

Sweden

Northern Sweden- especially the part north of the Arctic Circle- has intervals in summer when the sun never sets. During winter, the daylight can be minimised to a few hours only. Such changes in daylight hours are famous in such cities as Kiruna.

Finland

In the Finnish Lapland, there is a condition called Kaamos, which means polar night, where the sun remains below the horizon, and it takes days or even weeks, depending on the latitude one is at. Summer, on the contrary, is associated with uninterrupted daylight or night sun in these locations.

United States (Alaska)

In Alaska, the most north-western parts, such as Utqiagvik (previously known as Barrow), lie north of the Arctic Circle. In this case, summer may have two to almost three months of daylight that is almost continuous. In the same way, winter causes long periods without the sunrise, which form long nights.

Nivritti Khatri
first published: Sep 25, 2025 12:44 pm

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