Health Services in Svalbard

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Author: Haraldson, Sixten S. R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1979
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Ecology; Geography, Planning and Development; Arctic; Svalbard; Main Island; North Atlantic; Polar Record; Siberia; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247400002692; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247400002692

Independent of latitude, scattered populations all over the world need specially designed health and social services with much higher per capita costs than in densely populated parts of the world. This is particularly true of the Arctic region with its harsh environmental conditions and constraints apply. Indeed, it is even more important to establish the nature of numerical highly individual native cultures. In spite of its northerly position, Svalbard (77–80°N) has a relatively mild climate which offers an environment less inhospitable than might be expected at this latitude. The climate, especially on the main island, Spitsbergen, is influenced by an extreme tail of the North Atlantic Drift which keeps the waters of the west and north coasts open for half the year. Extreme Arctic temperatures are rare. Spitsbergen's temperature fluctuates by about 20°C, whereas in castern Siberia the range can be three times as great. The annual average temperature on the west coast is −5°C, seldom falling below −30°C. July is usually around +5°C with an occasional maximum of +20°C. Therefore, the health problems often associated with extremely cold climates are not common in Svalbard.