Longyearbyen prohibits births and deaths for practical and health reasons, notably due to the lack of a hospital equipped for childbirth and the conditions of permafrost that prevent the decomposition of bodies, posing health risks.
In Longyearbyen, one is in one of the northernmost inhabited places on the planet. The climate is extremely cold, with average temperatures hovering around -15 °C in winter. The permafrost, meaning the permanently frozen ground, makes it impossible to bury bodies in a traditional way as it prevents their decomposition. This freezing cold also leads to difficulties in maintaining any serious medical infrastructure. It is dark for a good part of the year with the famous polar night lasting up to four months! Everything frozen, ground hard as concrete, and constant darkness, not exactly the ideal place to be born or die peacefully.
In Longyearbyen, there is only one small multipurpose hospital that mainly handles minor cases or simple emergencies. There are no specialists or large medical equipment on site, so it is impossible to provide proper care for difficult deliveries, intensive care, or critical medical situations. In the event of a serious issue, an air evacuation to mainland Norway, over a thousand kilometers away, would be necessary, which is clearly not convenient. To avoid complications, the municipality thus prefers to ask pregnant women to leave a few weeks before their delivery for better-equipped cities like Tromsø or Oslo. The same goes for seriously ill residents: it is better to anticipate and move to the mainland to access proper medical care.
In Longyearbyen, there is a remarkable peculiarity: permafrost, meaning permanently frozen ground. Because of this extreme cold, bodies do not decompose naturally. As a result, bodies remain almost intact, as if "mummified" by the cold. This might seem nice for preserving one’s appearance after death, but in reality, it is far from cool. Indeed, permafrost also preserves viruses and bacteria, and potentially dangerous microbes can survive for a long time under the ice. This poses a real health problem, since no one wants to see the resurgence of ancient diseases that were thought to be gone. That is why burying someone in Longyearbyen is strictly discouraged, or rather completely prohibited.
The local authorities of Longyearbyen have implemented very specific rules to prevent anyone from being born or dying officially there. Specifically, as a pregnancy approaches term, the expectant mother must travel to the Norwegian mainland well before giving birth, as there is no suitable hospital on site. The same applies in the case of death: if someone becomes seriously ill or approaches the end of life, they are transported to the mainland coast to spend their final days. All of this is governed by clear administrative decisions aimed at navigating the particular challenges of the area's climate and geography, and avoiding the practical issues that arise from the sustainable preservation of bodies in the permafrost. These rather strict measures result from specific local regulations designed to manage these extreme peculiarities.
The city has made practical arrangements. For example, pregnant women generally leave several weeks before their due date for better-equipped regions like Tromsø, significantly further south. When someone falls seriously ill or becomes elderly, they are also sent there, in order to manage the situation in advance. As for deaths, it's pretty clear: bodies do not remain on-site; they are transferred to the mainland to be buried properly elsewhere. This prevents human remains from being preserved in the permafrost without ever truly decomposing, which is quite an uncomfortable situation. Basically, they do not directly solve the problem on-site, but find solutions elsewhere.
Due to permafrost, there are no underground pipelines in the city; all piping is above ground, giving the city its typical appearance with very visible infrastructure.
In Longyearbyen, residents must remove their shoes at the entrance of public places, such as the library or the church, a local tradition to keep the interiors clean in light of the challenging climatic conditions.
The town of Longyearbyen is home to the 'Svalbard Global Seed Vault', designed to preserve global plant diversity against natural or human-made disasters.
In Longyearbyen, polar bears are so prevalent that many residents move outside the city limits armed, for safety reasons. There are even more polar bears in the region than there are inhabitants!
Yes, the city is facing extremely cold temperatures, prolonged polar nights for several months, and very limited accessibility, especially in winter, which makes living conditions difficult and requires a great deal of self-sufficiency from the residents in terms of health, supplies, and safety.
It's not an official strict prohibition, but rather a strong recommendation based on practical considerations. Indeed, permafrost prevents bodies from decomposing naturally, which creates significant health and environmental issues. Therefore, local authorities ask dying individuals or those suffering from serious illnesses to leave the island to spend their last moments on the mainland.
Permafrost is a layer of soil that is permanently frozen, preventing the natural decomposition of organic matter. Extremely cold temperatures have the effect of preserving bodies almost indefinitely, which poses a health risk as viruses and bacteria can also be preserved for a very long time.
Although it is theoretically possible, in practice, the authorities strongly recommend that pregnant women leave Longyearbyen about a month before their due date to give birth safely on the Norwegian mainland, due to the lack of adequate care on-site in case of complications.
If a person becomes seriously ill in Longyearbyen, they are usually evacuated to the Norwegian mainland by plane to receive appropriate medical care, as the town does not have the medical infrastructure necessary to handle severe cases or complex surgeries.
Since traditional burial is impossible due to the permafrost, when a resident passes away in Longyearbyen, the body is transported to the Norwegian mainland where families can choose cremation or traditional burial in suitable soil.
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