Sunday 17 November 2024Before the Wire, which starts 26 October 2026Updated 23:59
Polar night, day 23 of 112. The sun returns 15 February.
Svalbard Wire starts on 26 October 2026. Pages before that date show the history of the island.
This week in history, 15 November
1973
On 15 November 1973 Norway, Denmark, Canada and the United States signed the international agreement on the conservation of polar bears in Oslo, at the end of a three-day conference of the five Arctic states; the Soviet Union signed later. Under the agreement polar bear hunting on Svalbard became unlawful.
History Store norske leksikon
From the timeline, The coal town
1962
On 5 November 1962 an explosion in the coal mine at Ny-Ålesund, on the south side of Kongsfjorden on Spitsbergen, killed the whole shift of 21 men. Mining at Ny-Ålesund stopped for good the following year, and criticism of conditions at the state-owned company brought down the Gerhardsen government.
History Store norske leksikon
Svalbard