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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alert, Nunavut | 4/4 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alert,_Nunavut | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T09:03:43.799308+00:00 | kb-cron |
Alert is 12 km (7.5 mi) west of Cape Sheridan, the northeastern tip of Ellesmere Island, on the shore of the ice-covered Lincoln Sea. Alert lies just 817 km (508 mi) from the North Pole; the nearest Canadian city is Iqaluit, the capital of the territory of Nunavut, 2,092 km (1,300 mi) distant. The settlement is surrounded by rugged hills and valleys. The shore is composed primarily of slate and shale. Argillite and greywacke also occur. Some of these rocks are calcareous. The sea is covered with sea ice for most of the year but the ice pack does move out in the summer, leaving open water. Evaporation rates are also very low, as average monthly temperatures are above freezing only in July and August. Other places on Ellesmere Island are the weather station at Eureka (480 km (300 mi)) and the Inuit community of Grise Fiord, 800 km (500 mi), to the southwest and south, respectively. Siorapaluk (540 km (340 mi) to the south) is the nearest populated place in Greenland. Hans Island which from 2023 has a land border with Greenland, a territory of Denmark, is located 197 km (122 mi) to the south.
== Climate ==
Alert has a polar climate, technically a tundra climate (ET) with characteristics of an ice cap climate (EF). There is complete snow cover for at least 10 months of the year on average and snow from one year persists into the next year in protected areas, but enough melts to prevent glaciation. The warmest month, July, has an average temperature of 3.4 °C (38.1 °F), with only July and August averaging above freezing, and those are also the months where well over 90 per cent of the rainfall, which averages only 17.4 mm (0.69 in) per year, occurs. Rain is rare in June and September and virtually unheard of during the remaining eight months of the year. Alert is the fourth-driest locality in Nunavut and averaging only 158.3 mm (6.23 in) of precipitation per year, the vast majority of this occurring as snow. The heaviest snowfalls occur during July to October, and Alert sees relatively little snowfall during the winter months. September is usually the month with the heaviest snowfall. The relative humidity is so low that door handles are covered in electrical tape to prevent static electricity. February is the coldest month of the year with a mean temperature of −33.2 °C (−27.8 °F). The yearly mean, −17.7 °C (0.1 °F), is the second-coldest in Nunavut after Eureka. Snowfall can occur during any month of the year, and the typical year sees no more than five days in a row without frost. Average highs rise above freezing only in mid-June and drop below freezing at the end of August. Being far north of the Arctic Circle, Alert experiences polar night from October 14 to February 28, and midnight sun from April 7 to September 4. There are two relatively short periods of twilight from about February 13 to March 22 and the second from September 19 to October 22. Nautical twilight lasts from October 29 to February 11. Astronomical twilight, where 24 hours are in effect completely dark with only a marginal astronomical twilight, occurs from November 19 to January 22.
== See also ==
Station Nord, Greenland, the second-northernmost permanent settlement in the world Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, the northernmost settlement/town in the world with a permanent population of civilians Puerto Williams, Chile, the southernmost settlement on Earth
== Notes ==
== References ==
== Further reading ==
== External links ==
Royal Canadian Air Force page on CFS Alert