At 7 PM on Sunday, a national ice day passed in Sweden, the first in two years. This means temperatures stayed below zero degrees at all weather stations for a full day. The phenomenon is becoming rarer due to milder winters.
On Sunday, February 1, 2026, it became clear at 7 PM that Sweden had experienced a national ice day, according to SVT meteorologist Per Stenborg. A national ice day means temperatures were below 0.0°C at all weather stations in the country for a temperature day, which runs from 7 PM the previous day to 7 PM the current day.
This is the first national ice day this winter and the first since early January 2024. Before that, more than two years had passed since the last one. Stenborg notes that such ice days are becoming increasingly rare due to climate change, leading to milder weather and more above-zero temperatures in coastal areas of southern Sweden. Between 1991 and 2020, an average of 2.6 national ice days occurred per year, but the trend is declining.
Stenborg believes Monday could bring another ice day, but probably not Tuesday, when temperatures are expected to rise above zero in southern coastal areas. The colder weather will persist for most of the week, with varied cloudiness and sub-zero temperatures in most places. Some snowfall may occur in the south later in the week.
Historically, national ice days are most common in January and February. The winter with the most, 1984/85, had 25 such days, followed by 1969/70 with 22. The statistics date back to 1944/45, according to SMHI.
