Utqiagvik, Alaska

Utqiaġvik (; ,  ), officially known as the City of Utqiaġvik and as Barrow () until 2016, is a city in Alaska. It is the northernmost city of the United States of America and one of the northernmost cities in the world. It is located on the north coast of Alaska along the Arctic Ocean and is the administrative capital of the North Slope Borough. It is about 1,300 miles or 2,100 kilometers from the North Pole. Its antipode is located in Antarctica.

Climate
Utqiagvik experiences a tundra climate with long, very cold winters and short, cool summers. Temperatures are below freezing from early October until late May. The high temperature is above freezing for only about 138 days per year, and there are temperatures at or below  on an average of 145 days per year. Freezing temperatures and snowfall can happen during any month of the year.

Because Utqiagvik is located above the Arctic Circle, there are some days when the sun never rises and some days when the sun never sets. When the sun sets on November 18 or 19, it will stay below the horizon for about 65 days, until January 22 or 23. This phenomenon is called polar night. The opposite, midnight sun, occurs during the summer. When the sun rises on May 10 or 11, it will remain above the horizon until August 1 or 2.

Winters are extremely cold and dry with temperatures at or below -40°F/C sometimes occurring. Summers in Utqiagvik are cool with temperatures in the high 30s and low 40s. There are on average 26 days per year above 50°F (10°C) and around 5 days above 60°F (18°C). Temperatures above 70°F are rare. The average yearly temperature in Utqiagvik is . The highest temperature recorded in Utqiagvik was  on July 13, 1993 and the lowest temperature was  on February 4, 1924. Utqiagvik is warming quickly due to being in the Arctic. The Arctic region is warming at rate three times the global mean.https://mobile.twitter.com/ClimateOfGavin/status/1276603997915426816 
Smoothed data from NOAA shows that Utqiagvik has warmed by more than 11°F since 1976 with average autumn temperature warming at a staggering 18°F (10°C).  

 Transportation 
Although Utqiagvik is in North America, it is isolated from any other city. There is no road connecting Utqiagvik and other places in Alaska, which makes it impossible to drive into or out of the city. Therefore, the only way to get there is by plane. It is also possible to get there by boat, but only during a few months in the summer as the ocean is frozen for most of the year.

References

Other websites
In Alaska, Melting Ice Could Erode Way of Life  September 17, 2013 PBS NewsHour

Category:Cities in Alaska
Category:Borough seats in Alaska