The next mayor takes shape

Oslo news from the past 48 hours: the race for the mayorship is taking shape with Abdullah Alsabeehg's candidacy for Arbeiderpartiet, while the central station closes for 22 hours for maintenance and the season's first snow has covered the capital.

Oslo: a Labour candidate throws his hat in for the mayorship

With less than a year to go before the local elections, the political field is taking shape in Oslo county. Abdullah Alsabeehg (40), from Arbeiderpartiet (Ap), is so far the only candidate formally launched and ready to accept running for mayor (NRK Oslo). "There are few tasks more meaningful than being mayor of the most beautiful city in the world," he tells NRK. "If the members of Oslo Ap wish it, I am ready and motivated."

The current mayor, Eirik Lae Solberg (Høyre), elected in 2023, is expected to defend his seat. Høyre was the first party to nominate its candidates for the byråd and the mayorship (NRK Oslo). No other party has so far nominated a contender for the post, and according to NRK, they are unlikely to do so. The campaign for the most important positions in Norwegian municipal life is nevertheless already under way.

Oslo S closed for 22 hours for works

Oslo's central station (Oslo sentralstasjon) is closed for 22 hours due to planned maintenance and renovation works (NRK Oslo). No trains will run through the station from Saturday 06:00 until Sunday 04:00. The Oslo S – Lysaker connection remains closed until 11:00 Sunday morning.

During this period, trains turn back at outlying stations around Oslo. Trains run to and from Skøyen, Bryn, Grefsen and Holmlia. Trains using the Romeriksporten and the Blixtunnelen turn back at Lillestrøm and Nordre Follo (formerly Ski) (NRK Oslo).

This episode adds to an already busy autumn on the rails: a Telenor outage paralysed rail traffic across the country on Thursday afternoon and evening. And next summer, Oslo S will close entirely for two and a half weeks.

First snow of the season over Østlandet

Snow has arrived over Østlandet and several Oslo residents made their way to Tryvann to enjoy it (NRK Oslo). The road traffic management centre advises drivers to switch to winter tyres or leave the car in the garage. Police are sending the same message to drivers still fitted with summer tyres. Several places in the region experienced traffic problems.

Sofia Graff, with her family at Tryvann, enjoys the fresh snow: "It's fun! I like making snowmen." Her mother, Oda Graff, confirms that "the snow has been very popular. The children love it." Cross-country skiing enthusiasts already view it as a promising sign. Ole Aleksander Bachke, however, tempers expectations: "The skis are at home. There's still a bit too little snow."

The 2018 drought is still killing trees around Oslo

The summer of 2018 remains one of the most extreme Norway has experienced in recent times. It started early: as early as May, the temperature was 4.4 degrees above the average for the whole country, according to met.no. The heat continued all summer, with high temperatures and extremely low rainfall (NRK Oslo).

Eight years on, the consequences are still visible in the forests around Oslo, where trees are still dying because they did not receive enough nutrients. "We are still seeing the consequences of the summer of 2018. Firstly because it was an extremely dry summer, but we have also had several dry summers since," explains the professor of applied forest ecology at NMBU, Line Nybakken (NRK Oslo). Esben Kirk Hansen, forestry manager at Oslo kommune's Bymiljøetaten, says that in the capital's forests a very clear increase in dead spruces is being observed.

📌 Local briefs

A man has been taken into custody and charged with attempted murder following an altercation at the Namsfogden's premises, in central Oslo. A woman is slightly injured and the two people knew each other, without being employed by the Namsfogden; police seized a knife (NRK Oslo).

Sources: NRK Oslo, Aftenposten, The Local Norway — Period: 10 October 2026 and 11 October 2026