Freezing in winter? Think it's too cold around? Do tears come to your eyes at the thought of the warm sun? There are places where it is much, much colder, and yet people somehow exist there. How exactly do they live - in our top 10 coldest cities in the world... All cities have a winter temperature record.
10.Harbin, China - minus 38.1 ° C
Even the harsh winter is a pleasure for the inhabitants of this city. After all, thanks to her, the International Snow and Ice Festival is held in Harbin. This is one of the largest ice festivals in the world. It features ice sculptures, ice-hole swimming and downhill skiing.
9. Longyearbyen, Norway - minus 46.3 ° C
In this settlement, located on the island of West Spitsbergen, one of the the strangest bans in the world... You cannot be born and die here. Therefore, there is no maternity hospital or cemetery here. And the bodies of dead people are transported to the mainland. Longyearbyen is also famous for the fact that the underground World Seed Storage was built here at the insistence of the UN. It will come in handy in the event of a global catastrophe.
8. Barrow, USA - minus 47 ° C
Colds come to this American city unexpectedly (almost like to Russian utilities). Yesterday people could easily drive a car, but today it is already necessary to use snow removal equipment. Due to these temperature changes, living in Barrow is quite difficult. However, this is what homo sapiens is famous for, which can adapt to almost any conditions.
7. Winnipeg, Canada - minus 47.8 ° C
One of the coldest places on the planet is the capital of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Typical January lows there are from minus 20 to minus 22 ° C. And on December 24, 1879, the city temperature record was recorded - minus 47.8 ° C. It must have been an unpleasant day for the townspeople.
6. Yellowknife, Canada - minus 51 ° C
Founded in 1934, Yellowknife is the capital of Canada's Northwest Territories. It is home to over 20,000 people, most of whom are employed in the mining industry. The city boasts long and clear winter nights, which provide optimal conditions for viewing the northern lights from mid-November to early April.
5. Dudinka, Russia - minus 61 ° C
One of the northernmost cities in the world regularly faces extreme winter conditions. The average daily minimum temperature in January is minus 33 degrees Celsius.
This city is home to the world's only ice stadium beyond the Arctic Circle - the Taimyr ice arena.
4. Norilsk, Russia - minus 64 ° C
Norilsk has never had a mild climate. In winter, it often reaches minus 40 degrees.However, in 2014, a new temperature minimum was recorded there - 64 ° C below zero. It is interesting that Norilsk and Murmansk are located at almost the same latitude. However, Murmansk is noticeably warmer.
3. Yakutsk, Russia - minus 64.4 ° C
The first three coldest cities on Earth are opened by the capital of the Sakha Republic. It is famous for its very harsh winter conditions. The most extreme temperatures are in January, with average temperatures ranging from minus 38 ° C to minus 41 ° C. In 1891, a temperature record was recorded with a minus sign (64 ° C below zero).
In addition, the winter season in Yakutsk can start much earlier than in other cities of the world.
2. Verkhoyansk, Russia - minus 67.7 ° C
Technically, this city can be considered the coldest on Earth, since the leader of our list is a village. There are few residents in Verkhoyansk - 1131 people as of 2017. And this is understandable, there are few people who want to live in a place that bears the title "Pole of Cold in the Northern Hemisphere."
1. Oyamkon, Russia - minus 71.2 ° C
This is the answer to the question of what is the coldest place on Earth. The average winter temperature in the village of Oymyakon is minus 50 ° C. And the lowest recorded temperature is an amazing -71.2 degrees. True, it is almost a century apart from our time; it was measured in 1924. For comparison: in the hottest place in the world the air warms up to 70 degrees.
Why is Oymyakon the coldest city in the world?
The reason is the geographical location of the village, which was unlucky for several reasons. It is located in a river valley surrounded by mountains, which form something like a horseshoe. The open top of the arc points north. At night, dense and heavy cold air flows down from the mountains and accumulates in the depression where the village is located.
The height above sea level also plays a role: as a rule, the higher the place, the colder it is. Summer in the village is short, only three months, but hot, with large temperature drops; if during the day it can be plus 30 ° C, then at night the air is cooled to minus.
The irony lies in the very name "Oymyakon". It comes from the Evenk word meaning a non-freezing spring, or a place where fish hibernate. There is indeed a spring near the village, because of which, apparently, local residents began to settle here. They quickly got used to the low temperatures.
A temperature of -40 ° C is considered cold, but not too cold. -25 ° C - unusually warm. The fact that the weather is usually calm also helps to adapt to the cold - it makes it easier to endure the cold. Locals even say that they prefer to live here, and not where winters are milder, but windy and wet. They measure the temperature with special thermometers with mercury-thallium alloy so that mercury does not freeze. Their maximum minimum temperature is minus 61.1 ° C.
At such temperatures, the simplest actions like taking a child to kindergarten or school, going to the store turn into a whole quest. Usually residents of Oymyakon during the "winter" months try to go out less - only to the grocery store, quickly, wrapping themselves in a scarf and additionally pressing a mitten to their face.
But the residents of Yakutsk, located two days away, have to call a taxi, or move only by private transport. By the way, frosts for Oymyakon kids are not an excuse to skip school - it works down to -52 ° C.
What clothes save from frost in Oymyakon
Locals dress, of course, in furs - the more natural and thicker, the better. Fur hats, high fur boots (made of leather and deer fur), mittens, and a scarf all over the face to protect the skin from burns. Faux fur is not good at all. In the cold, it quickly becomes unusable, and sometimes literally breaks down.
Children for kindergarten are wrapped up to such an extent that they are practically unable to move independently - only eyebrows and eyes are visible.Therefore, parents carry them on a sled, and the fur blanket that is laid on these sleds is pre-warmed.
Food
It is impossible to grow crops in permafrost conditions, so the locals mainly feed on dense protein foods. Stroganina has firmly settled on the menu, like many centuries ago, among the indigenous peoples of the North. These are shavings from a frozen piece of meat or fish. And the everyday menu most often consists of thick soup with the same meat or fish. In such a climate, locals do not need refrigerators, because everything is stored right outside the window.
Pets
Residents of Oymyakon keep cattle, but in such cold weather they try not to let them go outside. In winter, only hardy Yakut horses (they are covered with a long, dense horse) and dogs are released into the street. Cows see the white winter light only when absolutely necessary, and then they specially wrap the udders with them so that they do not freeze.
Utility services
Permafrost, extremely low temperatures and sewerage are incompatible things, so most toilets in Oymyakon are located outside houses. Oymyakon is supplied with heat by a local coal-fired thermal station. Its condition, as well as central heating in the city of Yakutsk, located two days away, is being checked in June. At the same time, pipes are replaced, if required.
Power outages are the worst that can happen in the High North. If this happens, all residents of Oymyakon take to the streets and try to heat the buildings most needed for the village with burners - a kindergarten, a single store, a canteen. The pipes had to be dug out and warmed up manually so that they would not freeze. Fortunately, this does not happen often.
Transport
There are two ways to get from Yakutsk to Oymyakon - either by car or by air. Airplanes fly only during the warmest season, in summer, and no more than once a week. Therefore, the main connection with the world is through road transport. The most enduring is the classic UAZ “loaf”, capable of overcoming more than a thousand kilometers of highway covered with a crust of ice and snow without any special consequences for itself.
Cars in the Far North require special, careful handling. Drivers often place a woolen blanket over the bonnet and another underneath to warm up the engine and electrics. The windows of the cars in the north are double so they don't get covered with ice. If the car is outside, it must be kept at idle speed. It can only be stopped in a heated garage. If the engine is stopped outdoors, the battery will instantly freeze and the vehicle will not be able to start. Therefore, if the engine suddenly stalled somewhere outside the city, you have to thaw the battery over the fire and, in addition, heat the metal casing under the engine.
Long-distance carriers do not shut off the engines of their iron horses for literally months. Due to the harsh northern conditions, the vast majority of gas stations in the Yakutsk region are open 24 hours a day.
Constantly working engines of cars, breathing of people and steam from working industrial enterprises create a dense curtain that covers Yakutsk in the coldest time of the year. Sometimes it is so thick that nothing can be seen at a distance of ten steps.
Gadgets
It is better not to get small electronics in the Far North on the street, because they instantly turn into a piece of ice. Therefore, the owners keep them in their inner pockets, warming them with the warmth of their own bodies, and get them only in heated rooms. It is very difficult to photograph in such subzero temperatures.
Disease and death
Surprisingly, with such extreme cold, colds do not happen. Viruses and bacteria simply freeze out. Freezing something is easy, but catching a cold is not.However, this is not as good as it seems, and if a resident of Oymyakon moves to warmer regions, he risks constantly catching cold.
The harsh climate is a big test for the human body, so there are almost no long-livers among the inhabitants of the Far North. In addition to extreme temperatures, vitamin deficiencies and a monotonous diet also play a role. The eternal winter affects both the beginning and the end of human life - in the freezing cold it is impossible to dig out the grave, therefore if one of the inhabitants of the village dies, the earth has to be warmed up with fires.
How do the locals themselves feel about this climate?
Autumn in the Far North is the saddest time of the year. The short summer is over, with a long and very cold winter ahead. However, when it finally comes, and the dull slush is covered with fresh snow, white and clean, the inhabitants of the Yakut region seem to rejoice at the arrival of cold weather. Complaints are usually caused not by the frost itself as such, but by the poor performance of utilities - if the heating does not work or an accident occurs. The warmth raises much more criticism - starting in June, the northerners, accustomed to cold weather, begin to complain about the heat.
True, in recent years, the inhabitants of Yakutia (those who can afford it) prefer to wait out the winter in warmer places. For example, in Thailand, a direct plane line was drawn between Yakutsk and Bangkok. And their places are occupied by tourists - amazingly, but Oymyakon is becoming a popular place among fans to feel the animal grin of real cold.
How does cold affect the human body?
- At minus 5 ° C, frost is more invigorating than inconvenient - to protect yourself from it, it is enough to put on a warm hat, wrap your throat with a scarf, and you will be warm and comfortable.
- At minus 20 °, moisture in the nasal mucosa begins to freeze, and the cold air burns the nasopharynx.
- At minus 35 ° C, frostbite on exposed skin is a very real danger.
- And at minus 45 ° C, only a masochist can wear glasses with metal frames - the metal sticks to the cheekbones and nose, and you will have to take off the glasses along with pieces of skin.