MOSJ (Environmental Monitoring of Svalbard and Jan Mayen) is an environmental monitoring system and part of the Norwegian Government’s environmental monitoring in Norway. The site provides historical climate records (ocean, land, and atmosphere), including temperature precipitation, snow, permafrost and sea-ice.

 

mosj temperature svalbard

The figure shows the annual mean temperature at the Norwegian Arctic stations in Svalbard. The data have been filtered so that variations on time scales shorter than 10 years have been smoothed. Unfiltered data from Svalbard Airport may be activated in the figure. The annual mean temperature shows quite a similar trend at the various stations. The longest data series is from Svalbard Airport, and started in 1898. It shows periods of rising temperatures from 1915 to the 1930s and 1970 until today, but cooling from the 1950s to about 1970. When the period is viewed as a whole, the temperature on average has risen by 0.32°C per decade. This exceeds that shown by similar series from the Norwegian mainland.

Credit: Norwegian Meteorological Institute (2018). Air temperature in Svalbard, annual mean. Environmental monitoring of Svalbard and Jan Mayen (MOSJ). Image retreived 2020-09-17 from http://www.mosj.no/en/climate/atmosphere/temperature-precipitation.html.
mosj tempearture bjornoya jan mayen

The figure shows the annual mean temperature at the Norwegian Arctic stations in Bjørnøya and Jan Mayen. The data have been filtered so that variations on time scales shorter than 10 years have been smoothed.

Credit: Norwegian Meteorological Institute (2018). Air temperature on Bjørnøya and Jan Mayen, annual mean. Environmental monitoring of Svalbard and Jan Mayen (MOSJ). Image retreived 2020-09-17 from http://www.mosj.no/en/climate/atmosphere/temperature-precipitation.html.
precipitation norwegian arctic

The figure shows the seasonal mean temperatures for Svalbard Airport. Winter (DJF), spring (MAM), summer (JJA) and autumn (SON). The figure also shows data that have been filtered so that variations on time scales shorter than 10 years have been smoothed. Seasonal mean temperatures for Svalbard Airport shows that year-to-year variation is less in summer than the rest of the year. The temperature in Svalbard is strongly affected by ice, which can vary widely from year to year. Hence, the seasons with ice present show greater variation in average temperature from year to year. Trends in seasonal mean temperatures at Svalbard Airport shows a temperature increase for all four seasons. Current trends show the largest increase in temperature winter and spring, respectively 0.41˚C per decade and 0.44˚C per decade from 1899 to 2019.

Credit: Norwegian Meteorological Institute (2018). Precipitation in Svalbard and Jan Mayen, annual total. Environmental monitoring of Svalbard and Jan Mayen (MOSJ). Image retreived 2020-09-17 from http://www.mosj.no/en/climate/atmosphere/temperature-precipitation.html.