Due to its extreme north­erly loc­a­tion Mur­mansk exper­i­ences an annual 40-day long polar night from 3 Decem­ber to 11 Janu­ary. Dur­ing this period, when the sun remains con­stantly below the hori­zon, a semi-twilight occurs each day for only a few hours around noon. For the rest of the time, the city is wrapped up in darkness.