Stockholm Heads Toward Grim Record Not Seen Since 1934

"Do you think it's dark?" That was the question posed by Swedish meteorologist Ulrika Elvgren last week to her fellow citizens, and answered in the same tweet with her own answer: "Yes, it has been extra dark." The reason for her inquiry: Multiple parts of the country, including the capital of Stockholm, haven't seen a full hour of sunlight this month, per the Local. AFP notes that at this time of year, Stockholm usually only gets about six hours of sunlight to begin with, but due to excessive cloud cover this year, it's been an especially bleak December, with sunlight completely obscured.

The last time Stockholm caught a glimpse of the sun was Nov. 28. "You almost don't wake up ... because it's dark all the time and gray," one local tells the AFP. There's also been a lack of sun registered in several other parts of the country, Elvgren noted in her online post, and regions even further north are out of luck for the rest of 2020, as they've already entered their polar night, when the sun won't be seen above the horizon at all until next year. Stockholm, in the south of Sweden, has gone the entire month of December before without seeing the sun, but it's not common: The last time that happened was in 1934. (More Stockholm stories.)