Utqiagvik saw its last sunrise for this year. America’s northernmost settlement won’t see the Sun again until January 22, 2026, as the Arctic Circle’s Polar Night begins.
Due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis, the Sun will not rise above the horizon in Utqiagvik for the next 64 days. However, this particular municipality will not be in complete darkness, but will have a few hours of what is known as “civil twilight”, the soft blue light that usually appears before dawn.
Utqiagvik is about 500 miles northwest of Fairbanks and is home to about 4,400 people, with archaeological sites dating back to 500 AD, according to the town’s website.
Without the Sun’s light and daytime heating, temperatures drop significantly during the Polar Night across the Arctic Circle. This phenomenon also contributes to the creation of the Polar Vortex, an area of low pressure containing extremely cold air in the Earth’s stratosphere.
While winters in Utqiagvik include more than 60 days of darkness, in summer the city experiences almost three months of continuous sunshine. The next sunrise in the city will be at approximately 1:23 PM local time on January 26, 2026.
A stunning timelapse captures the final sunrise and sunset of the year in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, as the northernmost U.S. town enters 65 days of polar night. 🌅
— AccuWeather (@accuweather)
