Almost all the people in the world love a sunny, warm weather, nut not all of us are so lucky. There is no sun in some places; therefore, we decided to list the darkest cities in the world with the cloudiest sky.
There are cities in the world where the sun hides in clouds for months. For instance, in one of the cities of Norway, there are only 823 sundial hours per year, that is why we call it on of the darkest on our planet. It is only a couple of months a year, and the rest of the time the city is covered with eternal clouds and darkness.
1. Murmansk, Russia
Hours of sunshine per year: 1715
Murmansk is the largest city in the world, located beyond the Arctic Circle, and the darkest. Nevertheless, the weather here is not at all as terrible as it might seem. In winter, the temperature can warm up to -10 degrees Celsius ( 14 Fahrenheit) – a very comfortable level. But the night, lasting several months of the year, can be a real problem for the untrained psyche. During this period, the sun does not appear at all, filling even the daytime hours with constant dusk.
2. Kiruna, Sweden
Hours of sunshine per year: 1680
The name of the city can be translated as a “white bird”, which it is also depicted on the local coat of arms. This is about alchemy: the locals have always been involved in the mining industry, which in the Middle Ages was inextricably linked with alchemical workshops.
Kiruna is located one and a half kilometers (almost 1 mile) north of the Arctic Circle
The sun appears only for a short period from May 30 to July 15, the rest of the time the residents of the city have to put up with constant twilight, turning into a polar night in winter.
3. Yuzhno-Kurilsk, Russia
Hours of sunshine per year: 1662
The local population is almost entirely employed in the extraction and processing of marine resources. The end of the 90s was here in constant expectation of changes: conversations about the transfer of the Kuril Islands to Japan were, at that time, very loud. However, Yuzhno-Kurilsk remained as a part of Russia.
4. Juneau, USA
Hours of sunshine per year: 1540
Juneau is considered the largest state capital in all of America. Formally, the territory of the city occupies as much as 8,430 square kilometers (3,255 square miles).
In fact, 99% of the area is wild, with forested mountains, without any signs of civilization
If you add the almost complete absence of sunlight to this picture, you will understand why people suffer with depression and anxiety here.
5. Cologne, Germany
Hours of sunshine per year: 1504
The second, semi-official name of Cologne is the Metropolis on the Rhine, which reflects the really high status of the city, the largest and oldest cultural center of the whole country.
In addition to the deficit of the sun, Cologne simply has nothing to blame
6. Birmingham, UK
Hours of sunshine per year: 1364
Two million people live in Birmingham, the second largest English city. The local climate here is average for the country. It is mild and humid, there are practically no sharp transitions. As there is no bright sunlight, what the locals have long been accustomed to.
7. Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Hours of sunshine per year: 1230
The entire northern part of the Pacific Ocean is famous for its inhospitable, rainy and gloomy weather, seasoned with constant fogs. The port town of Prince Rupert looks like a real alien from Lovecraft’s dark fantasies. Why people still cling to this place, where Cthulhu, a fictional cosmic entity from the short story “The Call of Cthulhu”, is about to emerge from the water, is completely incomprehensible.
8. Nikolskoye, Russia
Solar hours per year: 992
Nikolskoye remains the only settlement in the rather big Aleutsky region. Only here you can meet the real Aleuts: besides them, almost no one is able to survive in local conditions. A sunny day here is a rare and amazing occurrence.
9. Torshavn, Denmark
Hours of sunshine per year: 884
The capital of the autonomous Faroe Islands is located on the east coast of the island of Streimoy. Torshavn is officially the most cloudy settlement in the world: solar panels will not come to use here soon as well as it is on of the darkest places on the Earth.
Nevertheless, the locals are quite happy with their city, as the standard of living of Torshavn is very significant
10. Jan Mayen, Norway
Hours of sunshine per year: 823
And the title of the darkest place on our planet solemnly goes to the Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean of Jan Mayen. Strictly speaking, this place does not reach the normal city size. The entire population represents service personnel of several large state stations. This is only 18 people.
Many cruise ships visit the island in summer. They have to ask for it in advance in order to obtain a landing permit. Most of the island has a protection as a reserve.
In the summer, the island Jan Mayen has quite a fantastic bird life
No trees grow on the island due to the harsh climate.
