Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2017 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
200km²
Area
122km
Coastline
320m
Highest point
0
People
2°C
Warmest sea
August
851km
To the mainland
When to go to Kongsøya
Good all year round.
The sea is warmest in August (2 °C) and coolest in February (-1 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island of Svalbard
Kongsøya is an island in Norway. It covers 200 km², with 122 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 320 m. Nobody lives on it. The nearest mainland is 851 km away.
Getting there
- 851 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 48 m above the sea. 96 % of it is below 200 m.
- 67 %0–50 m
- 29 %50–200 m
- 4 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | -9 | -10 | -12 | -9 | -3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | -2 | -5 | -7 |
| Night low (°C) | -13 | -14 | -17 | -13 | -6 | -1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -4 | -8 | -11 |
| Sea (°C) | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | -1 | -1 |
| Rain (mm) | 46 | 38 | 41 | 32 | 28 | 33 | 45 | 54 | 57 | 56 | 60 | 53 |
| Wet days | 12 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 |
| Sun h/day | — | 1.4 | 4.5 | 9.2 | 10.0 | 9.2 | 5.6 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.0 | — | — |
| Wind (km/h) | 27 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 25 | 28 | 27 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | −0.5 | −0.4 | −0.4 | −0.3 | −0.6 | −0.9 | −0.6 | +2.1 | +1.6 | +0.8 | +0.4 | −0.3 |
| 2021 | −0.3 | −0.4 | −0.4 | −0.4 | −0.6 | −0.9 | −0.7 | +0.2 | +0.1 | −0.1 | −0.5 | −0.7 |
| 2022 | −0.5 | −0.4 | −0.4 | −0.4 | −0.5 | +0.4 | +2.6 | +2.3 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +0.3 |
| 2023 | −0.2 | −0.2 | −0.3 | −0.4 | −0.6 | −0.6 | +2.2 | +2.1 | +1.6 | +0.2 | −0.6 | −0.6 |
| 2024 | −0.5 | −0.4 | −0.4 | −0.4 | −0.5 | +0.3 | +1.8 | +3.4 | +1.9 | +1.2 | +0.9 | ±0.0 |
| 2025 | −0.5 | −0.3 | −0.3 | −0.3 | −0.4 | ±0.0 | +2.4 | +2.1 | +1.8 | +1.8 | +1.0 | +0.2 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Kong Karls Land
Norway361 km²316 m4 km away
SvenskøyaNorway138 km²280 m48 km away
NordaustlandetNorway14,467 km²764 m159 km away
KvitøyaNorway626 km²410 m158 km away
BarentsøyaNorway1,276 km²405 m166 km away
EdgeøyaNorway5,073 km²590 m196 km away
WilhelmøyaNorway118 km²558 m173 km away
Victoria Island
Russia5.5 km²105 m213 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q1137503) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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