Tuesday 4 November 2025Before the Wire, which starts 26 October 2026Updated 23:59
Polar night, day 9 of 111. 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, 5 November
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
From the timeline, Discovery and whaling
1610
The English whaler Jonas Poole found coal deposits in the Ny-Ålesund area in 1610. Mining there did not begin until 1916.
History Store norske leksikon
The timeline by era
Svalbard