Not only the wea­ther, but also the ice situa­ti­on around Spits­ber­gen is curr­ent­ly very unu­su­al. Espe­ci­al­ly the rela­tively high water tem­pe­ra­tures have a strong effect on the for­ma­ti­on and dis­tri­bu­ti­on of drift ice. Sta­tis­ti­cal­ly, the annu­al maxi­mum is rea­ched in April. As litt­le ice as now in ear­ly Febru­ary is very unu­su­al.

Fur­ther east, in Franz Josef Land, the­re is a den­se and exten­si­ve drift ice cover.

Ice chart published on Febru­ary 03, 2012.

Source (ice chart): Nor­we­gi­an meteo­ro­lo­gi­cal insti­tu­te met.no