The “boat in the ice”

Normally in April, the sailing boat Noorderlicht is frozen in solid ice in Tempelfjord to serve as a destination for snowscooter or dog sledge tours. This year, the “boat in the ice” is a “boat without ice”: until now, the fjords have simply not frozen due to the largely unusually mild weather and the high water temperatures. Before Eastern, Noorderlicht even left Tempelfjord to visit Longyearbyen.

The ice chart shows an unusual lack of fast ice for the season. Normally, most smaller fjords on the west coast and large areas in the east are frozen over with solid fast ice in April. But what is “normal” these days?

Source: Svalbardposten