Svalbard bans coffin burials because of permafrost

Coffins are not allowed for burials in Svalbard, because the permafrost affects how bodies decompose, El Cronista reported on Saturday 14 November. The tourism body Visit Svalbard gives that reason, and cycles of freezing and thawing can push buried coffins slowly towards the surface.

People who lived in Svalbard when they died have the right to an urn burial in the Longyearbyen cemetery. Visit Svalbard called the often-repeated claim that it is forbidden to die in Longyearbyen an urban myth.

Most graves in the cemetery date from 1917 to 1930, and no new urns have been accepted there since 2016. A Norwegian government consultation note from 2024 recorded that no funding decision has been made for a new cemetery.

The Longyearbyen hospital is small and equipped only for emergencies, the Governor of Svalbard (Sysselmesteren) said. Patients with a complicated or life-threatening illness are flown to the University Hospital of North Norway in Tromsø, which runs the hospital and said the transfer depends on weather and available aircraft.

Coverage: El Cronista