The residents of Utqiaġvik in Alaska recently witnessed their last sunset for the year. And, they won’t see the next sunrise until January 2021. Wondering what we are talking about? Read on to know more. By Amitha Ameen
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Utqiaġvik in Alaska is located 515 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. On Wednesday, November 19, 2020, at 01:30 pm PT (03:00 am IST) the residents of this city, which is also known as Barrow, witnessed their last sunset for 2020. The roughly 4,300 residents of the city will have to wait until January 2021 to be able to see the rising sun once again.
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The reason for this occurrence is due to the unique geolocation of Utqiaġvik. The region witnesses a phenomenon called Polar Nights that occurs every winter due to a tilt in the Earth’s axis, which only happens within the polar circles. What this means is that our planet tilts away from the sun during the winter season and none of the sun’s disc is visible above the horizon.
At 1:30pm AKST this afternoon, the sun will set and Utqiaġvik will enter a 66 day period of polar night. The sun will rise again on January 23rd, 2021. #akwx pic.twitter.com/iN4KXGxBh9
— NWS Fairbanks (@NWSFairbanks) November 18, 2020
While the phenomenon may be unusual or even unheard of to the rest of us, the residents are very much accustomed to this annual event. “At 01:30 pm AKST this afternoon, the sun will set and Utqiaġvik will enter a 66-day period of the polar night. The sun will rise again on January 23, 2021,” read a tweet from the National Weather Service in Fairbanks.
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During this period, residents are prepared with the necessary essentials including Vitamin D supplements. They also spend a lot of time indoors in surroundings that mimic daylight and also because temperatures plummet to single digits during this time. While there will not be complete darkness, the daytime will resemble the hour just before sunrise or just after sunset.
But it is not just Polar Nights that occur in this city, Utqiaġvik also undergoes a phenomenon called Polar Days. During this time, which usually occurs around May every year, the sun does not set for almost 80 days. Called the midnight sun, the city witnesses only daylight for almost two months.
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