Utqiagvik, Alaska, begins polar night: 65 days without sunlight
The northernmost town in North America will say goodbye to daylight this week as it enters its annual polar night. Residents won't see the sun again until Jan. 22, 2026.
The sunset on November 18th will mark the final appearance of the sun over Utqiagvik, Alaska, in 2025, as the town enters “polar night,” a period of roughly 65 days of darkness.
Sunset on Tuesday will mark the final appearance of the sun over Utqiagvik, Alaska, in 2025 as the town enters "polar night," a stretch of roughly 65 days of darkness.
The small town, formerly known as Barrow, sits at the northern tip of Alaska about 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle, making it the northernmost community in North America.
This prolonged darkness is the result of Earth’s tilt on its axis. As the Northern Hemisphere leans away from the sun between the September and March equinoxes, daylight fades farther and farther north, reaching its peak around the December solstice.
During polar night, the only sources of natural light come from the faint twilight near the southern horizon and the occasional glow of the Aurora Borealis overhead.
After Tuesday’s sunset, the next sunrise in Utqiagvik won’t come until Jan. 22, 2026.
The sun glows over the horizon near Utqiagvik, Alaska. (Getty Images/Tom Jamgochian)
Conditions during polar night are extreme: Temperatures frequently dip well below zero degrees Fahrenheit, and the sun’s absence alters daily rhythms for the roughly 5,000 residents.
But the darkness is temporary. When spring returns, so does the light — and by mid-May, the tables will turn completely. From then through early August, the sun will never set, ushering in Utqiagvik’s season of endless daylight, the bright counterpart to its long winter night.
In this Oct. 10, 2014 photo, a lone figure walks in a sunless late-morning on a street in Barrow, Alaska. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
