Winter is coming to an end and most of Russia is happily preparing for spring. But in some places of the planet, frosts still do not think to retreat. After all, there are cities where the temperature can drop to appalling values, when no boots and earflaps can save you. But where is the coldest city in the world located?
You can't call it a city, but we decided to add it to the rating just so that you can feel how terrifying frosts can be. This research station is located in Antarctica. Scientists and researchers constantly live here. It is difficult to say how comfortable they are, since even in summer the temperature rarely rises above -20 degrees. There is nothing to say about winters. The most severe frost that was recorded was -89.2 degrees. It happened on July 21, 1983 and has not been repeated since then. But 70-80 degrees below zero is a common phenomenon here.
The name of this small taiga village is translated into Russian as “non-freezing water”. But this does not mean that winters are so warm here that the ice does not have time to become. Just the opposite. Winter here lasts 9 months, and the thermometer may well touch the 70-degree mark. Ordinary household thermometers simply do not have such a division, so local residents have to buy models adapted to local frosts.
The most severe frost here was recorded back in 1926, when the thermometers showed an unprecedented -71.2 Celsius. On average, a frost of 40 degrees is not considered to be something supernatural. Despite such an unfriendly climate, about 600 people constantly live here who do not want to leave their village. By the way, it owes its name to the warm springs gushing out of the ground. They really do not freeze even in the worst frost.
This Russian city constantly argues with Oymyakon for the title of the capital of cold. And he has every chance, because the frost at 69.8 degrees is a confident claim to win. Because, in the opinion of many, Oymyakon is a little short of the title of a city, in contrast to Verkhnoyansk.
The history of this town began sadly. Undesirables, rebels and participants in uprisings were exiled here. Indeed, it is difficult to think of a more severe punishment than living in this icy hell. However, there are now 1,400 volunteers in it. This allows Verkhnoyansk to participate in another rating - the smallest cities in Russia. In it, he takes an honorable third place.
It is not surprising that the coldest city on earth is located in Russia, most of which is permafrost. And Yakutsk is the best confirmation of this.
Most of the cities worthy of a place in our ranking are quite small. People are not penguins, they cannot exist normally in such a climate. Therefore, only patriots of their small homeland and people who, for one reason or another, cannot leave it, remain in such towns. Yakutsk will stand out strongly against their background. About 250 thousand people live here permanently. Therefore, although it is not the coldest city on Earth, it still deserves to be included in our rating.
A relatively small settlement in Alaska has gained fame as one of the coldest places in the world. The average annual temperature here rarely rises above -20 degrees, and in winter it can drop to -50. This is easy to explain, because the city is located in the Arctic Circle. Nevertheless, a certain number of people constantly live here, who consider the area quite suitable for a comfortable existence. This settlement has few advantages, but it does. For example, in winter you can observe amazingly beautiful and bright polar lights here.
Now you know which city is the coldest, and you will never go there. Or, on the contrary, arm yourself with warm clothes, anti-frostbite remedies and go on a journey that you will certainly never forget.
The coldest places on Earth are called "cold poles". In the Northern Hemisphere, such a place is the village of Oymyakon in the east of Yakutia, where the lowest temperature among all settlements on our planet is recorded - minus 71 degrees Celsius. Nothing grows here, and planes fly only in summer, and even then once a week.
Welcome to the coldest city on earth!
Oymyakon village in the east of Yakutia:
Only 512 people live in the coldest city on Earth (2012). (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
Officially, the lowest recorded temperature in Oymyakon is minus 71.2 Celsius. At such extreme temperatures, almost no one is jamming cars here, because there is little chance to start them again ... (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
However, in the coldest city on Earth in winter they set records for heat, not cold. In November last year, a new temperature maximum was recorded - minus 22.5 degrees. The average daily temperature was -24.3 degrees, which is 12 (!) Degrees higher than the norm! (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
This is Yakutsk - the capital of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), a port on the Lena River and the third city in the Far Eastern Federal District in terms of population. Yakutsk and Oymyakon are separated by 1,000 km. (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
It's cold outside? The average monthly temperature in January in Oymyakon today is minus 54.1 degrees! (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
The village of Tomtor in the Oymyakon Valley. (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
General view of the village of Tomtor in the Oymyakonskaya valley. At these temperatures, almost nothing grows, and people are on a diet of reindeer meat. Sounds good and northern. (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
Ironically, the name of the city of Oymyakon is translated from the Evenk language as “non-freezing water” due to the existence of a warm spring in the middle of the permafrost. Freezing of the soil is the maximum on the planet. - up to 1,500 meters. When soil layers around underground lakes freeze more strongly, they increase in volume and "squeeze" water to the surface. (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
Local weather station. The village of Tomtor in the Oymyakon Valley. (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
Here ink freezes and there is no mobile communication: even if there was a coating, cell towers, telephones would not be able to work at such temperatures. (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
Another local problem is the burial of the dead. Due to the frozen soil, digging a grave can take three days here. workers heat the ground with coals and dig a few centimeters deep. (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
Drying clothes in the Oymyakon style. We have to knock the ice off the laundry. (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
Baptism near Yakutsk in the Lena River. The water is warmer than outside, you can warm up, however, you have to dive back ... (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
Local craftsmen build ice towns in the kingdom of snow and ice. (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
(Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
Lake Labynkyr in the Oymyakonskaya valley in the east of Yakutia, which became famous thanks to a creature unknown to science, supposedly living in its waters. The diver descends under the water. Apparently in search of Leviathan. (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
Anchorage of ships. In winter, they are laid up, they go on the seas only in summer. (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
You can get to these regions only by helicopter or by "winter road" - a road made of packed snow. Planes fly here in summer. (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
Soviet geologist Sergei Vladimirovich Obruchev, exploring the valley of the Indigirka River, drew attention to a strange noise that accompanied him all the time on the way. “It’s like pouring grain or the wind shaking dry snow off the trees. Wherever you turn, this noise is everywhere, but meanwhile there is no wind and the trees do not move. " (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
Then the traveler guessed that it was his frozen breath rustling. This characteristic noise appears when the frost is below minus 50 Celsius. The Yakuts call it romantically - "the whisper of the stars" ... (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
Lumberjacks near the village of Tomtor in the Oymyakonskaya Valley. (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
Dogs tolerate cold well enough, and the temperature at which even dogs are cold will be a real "dog cold". (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
The kingdom of ice and snow. (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
Icy UAZ. (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
Oymyakon is the coldest city on Earth. (Photo by MAXIM Shemetov | Reuters):
The weather is changing again and here's a look at some of the insanely cold places where people actually live.
The lowest recorded on record was minus 128.6 degrees Fahrenheit (-89.2 ° C) at the Russian research station in Antarctica, Vostok, on July 21, 1983. And while most cities are not so terribly cold, some are still quite close to this mark. Below are the eight coldest cities in the world where people live.
1) Verkhoyansk, Russia
According to the 2002 census, there are 1,434 inhabitants in Verkhoyansk, Russia. It was founded as a fortress in 1638 and served as a regional center for livestock and gold mining. Located 650 kilometers from Yakutsk, another coldest place on our list, and 2,400 kilometers south of the North Pole, Verkhoyansk was used for political prisoners between 1860 and the beginning of the 20th century.
It’s not surprising why the undesirables were exiled here: in January, the average temperature is minus 50.4 degrees Fahrenheit (-45.7 ° C), and the average monthly temperature remains fairly low from October to April. In 1892, residents recorded temperatures of minus 90 degrees F (-67.7 ° C).
2) Oymyakon, Russia
People in Oymyakon object to the fact that Verkhoyansk was given the title of the coldest place in the Northern Hemisphere, arguing that they recorded a temperature minimum of minus 90 degrees F (-67.7 ° C) on February 6, 1933.
By the way, political prisoners were also often exiled here during the Stalinist regime. Oymyakon is a three-day drive from Yakutsk, with a population of 500 to 800 people. Mobile communication does not work here, and in general there is little of modern amenities, and schools in the village do not close at -52 ° C. Travel companies offer tours to Oymyakon as an "ideal destination" for an exotic adventure.
3) International Falls, Minnesota.
International Falls, Minnesota may not be as cold as Oymyakon, but it is one of the coldest places in the continental United States. About 6,703 people live in International Falls (2000 census), which lies on the border between the United States and Canada.
Winters are long and cold here, with average temperatures in January around 2.7 F (-16.2 ° C). The mercury column will reach zero more than 60 nights a year, and the area receives a lot of snow (166 cm). International Falls is at war with the city of Fraser, Colorado over the trade name "refrigerator nation".
4) Fraser, Colorado.
Fraser, Colorado, is located 2,600 meters in the Colorado Rockies and is home to 910 residents (2000 census). Located near the popular ski resort of Winter Park, Fraser enjoys some of the coldest winters in the continental United States. The average annual temperature during the year reaches 32.5 degrees Fahrenheit (almost 0 ° C), and in summer it drops to 29 degrees (-1.66 ° C).
5) Yakutsk, Russia
Yakutsk has a reputation as the coldest city in the world. The world's lowest temperature outside Antarctica was recorded near Yakutsk in the Yana River basin. In winter, the average minimum drops below -40 ° C, starting in October and continuing until the end of April. In January, the average temperature reaches -34 degrees Fahrenheit (-36.6 ° C); the record low temperature recorded in January is minus 81.4 degrees Fahrenheit (-63 ° C).
6) Hell, Norway
Hell, which means "hell" in translation, has become famous in Norway for the very successful combination of its name and subarctic temperature. The average temperature in February 2010 was around 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-6.6 ° C). In recent years, the flow of tourists to this city has increased significantly, mainly to take pictures in front of one of the railway station signs.
Hell freezes, on average, for a third of the year, from December to March.
7) Barrow, Alaska
Barrow is the northernmost city in the United States and is located just 2,100 kilometers south of the North Pole and 510 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. The small town of 4,581 people was built in an area of permafrost characterized by no periodic thawing and very harsh winters.
The sun sets at the end of November and does not appear until the end of January. Even during summer days, the air is very cold. The average temperature does not rise until June and even then hardly - on average, July has a maximum of 40.4 degrees Fahrenheit (4.6 ° C).
Barrow is the economic center of the North Slope and many of its inhabitants work in the energy industry. The city can only be reached by plane or by sea.
8) Snage, Canada
Located in the Yukon Territory, Snage Village was the first settlement in the Klondike during the gold rush. A village in the White River Valley recorded its coldest temperature of minus 81 degrees Fahrenheit (-62.8 ° C) on February 3, 1947. This is the lowest recorded temperature in continental North America. Average temperatures in Snage range between 10.3 ° F (-12.05 ° C) and 34.3 ° F (1.2 ° C).
People who live in cold temperatures no longer pay attention to thermometer data. They have become accustomed to the harsh environment and have radically changed their way of life.
After all, literally everything, namely electronics, paints and even gasoline, freezes completely at low temperatures. However, people live in colder places on the planet. So what are the coldest cities in the world?
International Falls, Minnesota, USA
This city is located in the state of Minnesota, in the northern United States. International Falls is the capital of Kuchiching County. It is home to about 7 thousand people. And the average temperature in the city is only 2 degrees.Experts call the settlement the coldest place in the continental United States. From this and the unofficial name of the city - "refrigerator of the nation." By the way, the nickname is used as a trademark, which is confirmed by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Barrow, Alaska, USA
Barrow is one of the coldest cities in Alaska. And the closest city in the Arctic Circle in America. The average temperature here is minus 20.1 degrees. 
But it also happened that the thermometer columns reached minus 53 degrees. By the way, the northern lights quite often appear in the night sky over the settlement.
Umiet, USA
And this city was included in the list of the coldest in the world. In addition, it is one of the coldest cities in the United States. This is because the average temperature in Umiet is minus 12 degrees. The settlement itself is located above the Arctic Circle, 140 miles southwest of Deadhorse.Coldest cities in America
You can get to this place only by river or by air. There are no railways or highways in the district.
Prospect Creek, Alaska, USA
In this place, the temperature record was set in the second half of the last century. The lowest temperature in the United States of America was recorded on January 23, 1971. Then the thermometers showed minus 62.1 degrees Celsius. 
It's worth noting that Prospect Creek is 25 miles southeast of Bettles, Alaska.
Yakutsk, Russia
The capital of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), a port on the notorious Lena River. Yakutsk is the largest city in terms of the number of inhabitants in the north-east of Russia. The population here is 250 thousand people.Yakutsk is the coldest large city in the world
Yakutsk is the coldest large city in the world. Here the average annual air temperature is minus 10 degrees. But the average temperature in January is minus 41 degrees. The absolute minimum is minus 64 degrees. By the way, even in forty-degree frosts, residents of the city do not shiver, perhaps because they do not consider such a temperature to be frost. Low temperatures are tolerated here quite easily.
Snage, Yukon Province, Canada
A small village in the Yukon, Canada, has the coldest temperature in North American history. The record was set on February 3, 1947. Thermometer columns dropped to minus 63 degrees. By the way, the village of Snage itself was formed not so long ago. The settlement appeared on the world map in the late 1800s, during the Klondike gold rush. The settlement is located in the valley south of Beaver Creek.North Station, Greenland
As you know, Greenland is the coldest place in the Western Hemisphere. The largest island in the world is located in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Greenland covers more than 2 million square kilometers. 
In February, the average temperature in the center of the island is minus 47 degrees. And the temperature record was set on January 9, 1954. North station. Then the thermometers showed minus 66 degrees. The readings were recorded at ICE North at a research station in the middle of the Greenland Ice Sheet. By the way, the water reserves in the island's shield are enough to raise the sea level by seven meters.
Coldest city in Russia
The city of Verkhoyansk is also located in Yakutia, it lies outside the Arctic Circle. It was to this settlement that political exiles were once sent. The very first to be exiled to Verkhoyansk was the poet Puzhitsky, a participant in the Polish uprising. Here, on January 15, 1885, the exiled Kovalik, using the equipment of a meteorological station, registered the minimum air temperature - minus 67.1 degrees. Later this record was also broken. The lowest temperature here was minus 69.8 degrees. 
By the way, in Verkhoyansk, thermometers usually show minus 40 degrees. Approximately 1400 people live in such conditions. The city itself is the third smallest in Russia. Residents have even erected a plaque in honor of the discovery of the absolute temperature minimum in the northern hemisphere.
The coldest place in Russia
The village of Oymyakon is located in the Far East region, or rather, on the left bank of the Indigirka River, in the Oymyakon ulus of Yakutia. In the Sakha language, the name means "non-freezing water", this is because there is a warm spring in this place among the permafrost. The population of the village is about 600 people. And all people literally live in an icy village. The average temperature in a cold settlement is minus 40 degrees. And this is in winter, which lasts for about nine months. 
By the way, Oymyakon is located between the mountains in the taiga, cold air is concentrated in this trap and, therefore, very low temperatures are recorded in the village. On January 26, 1926, the thermometers showed minus 71.2 degrees. By the way, experts are still debating which of the settlements, Verkhoyansk or Oymyakon, should be considered the cold pole in the Northern Hemisphere. So far, the dispute is leaning in favor of Verkhoyansk.
The coldest place in the world
The coldest point in the world is Antarctica, Vostok Station. Only penguins and seals live there comfortably. And then not all year round, but only about six months. Nevertheless, people in these places also happen. At Vostok station on July 21, 1983, the lowest air temperature on the planet was recorded - minus 89.2 degrees. The station itself is located 1260 kilometers from the nearest sea coast. The temperature in summer reaches a maximum of minus 21 degrees. 
Therefore, this area received a well-founded name for the cold pole of the Earth. And getting to the East in the winter time is almost impossible. The thickness of the ice under the station is about 4 thousand meters. At the same time, the amount of precipitation is so small that the area of Vostok station can be attributed to the largest desert on the planet. As a rule, at very low temperatures, a person cannot live normally, therefore only Yakutsk can boast of a population of 250 thousand people. We invite you to read about the most populated cities in the world.
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Many foreigners who come to Russia, for example, to Moscow or Belgorod, are sincerely surprised that winter is not so fierce here. The stereotype created by the media is crumbling. But these cities are far from the whole country, and in fact there are a lot of places in the Russian Federation where the temperature drops significantly below 0 degrees. And in these harsh conditions of eternal winter people live and work.
The coldest places in Russia
Research and development "Vostok", located in Antarctica, the coldest place not only in Russia, but the entire planet, was founded back in 1957. The opening day became the warmest in the entire history of observations - the temperature was then -13.6 ° C. The coldest recorded temperature is -89.2 ° C.
It is interesting that the territory on which the Vostok station is located can logically be called the largest desert in the world, because there is practically no precipitation there.
The city of Yakutsk, the Republic of Sakha, Yakutia, with the largest population of all settlements located in the north-east of the country, is also the coldest city in the world. In January, the average temperature here is -41 ° С. The coldest day in the history of observations was recorded in 1946, when it was -64 ° C outside. The local residents are saved by the fact that frosts are easily tolerated here.
Verkhoyansk and Oymyakon are two more settlements of Yakutia with a severe frosty climate. The record of negative temperatures in the first of them was -67.1 ° С, and in the second it was even lower than -71.2 ° С. The settlements are drowned in a niche between the mountains, where icy air collects - hence such severe frosts.
Oddly enough, the summers in Verkhoyansk and Oymyakon are more than hot - in 2010, temperatures were recorded at + 37.3 ° C and +34.6 ° C, respectively.
Of the many Russian seas, the coldest is the East Siberian Sea, located in the basin of the Arctic Ocean. The water temperature, both in summer and in winter, is no more than −1.8 ° C. Almost all year round, the sea is covered with drifting ice floes, which are several meters thick.
The coldest place in the world that does not belong to Russia
Of the foreign possessions with constantly low temperatures, the coldest place is Greenland, which belongs to the state of Denmark. An island with an area of over 2 million sq. m, is located in the waters of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. The average daily winter temperature here is -47 ° C, and a record minus was recorded in 1954 (-66 ° C).
