Oymyakon, a village in Oymyakonsky Ulus of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), the Russian Federation, is considered as the coldest inhabited place on Earth. On February 6, 1933, a temperature of -67.7 °C (-90 °F) was recorded at Oymyakon’s weather station. The village is considered as one of the Pole of Colds (see notes 1) of the northern hemisphere.
Related: Hottest and Coldest places on Earth
And Yakutsk, the capital city of the Sakha Republic, is the coldest major city in the world. The city is located about 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of the Arctic Circle which has a population of 269,601 (2010 Census). In Yakutsk, average monthly temperatures range from +19.5 °C (67.1 °F) in July to -38.6 °C (-37.5 °F) in January. The lowest temperature recorded in Yakutsk was -64.4 °C (-83.9 °F) and the highest was +38.4 °C (101.1 °F).
But, what is it like to live in these places? Unfortunately, there is a serious lack of media coverage about these amazing places, Yakutsk and Oymyakon. Luckily for us, Sebastian Balders, who describes himself as the “Extreme Cold Chaser” published an amazing video shot in Yakutsk, Oymyakon, and around in the coldest days of winter.
Mr. Balders is from Germany. He study meteorology and he was the youngest tourist ever who has visited the pole of cold in Oymyakon (according to Mr. Balders himself).
In his video, he gives amazing images of daily life in the harsh winter of Yakutsk. He also traveled to Oymyakon. There are also a lot of beautiful views of Siberia in winter. Enjoy!
“Many people asked me about reaching Oymyakon. Well, from Yakutsk you can take the Taxi 20 hours to the place and that’s it. But please please keep in mind that Siberia is a very isolated area. In 20 hours drive, I saw around 10 cars passing me. No gas station, no villages, no civilization at all. It is a risk to travel there. Especially alone. If you don’t speak Russian I can not recommend visiting this area because local people usually do not speak English. It is extremely dangerous to travel there alone without any knowledge about the language. For more questions please visit my website and fill out the contact form. Thank you. Regards, Sebastian Balders”
Coldest Inhabited Place on Earth
Notes
- The Poles of Cold are the places in the southern and northern hemispheres where the lowest air temperatures have been recorded. In the northern hemisphere, there are two places in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Siberia, Russia that vie for the honor of being considered the “Pole of Cold” in winter. These are Verkhoyansk (located at 67°33’N 133°23’E) and Oymyakon (located at 63°15’N 143°9’E).
Sources
- Pole of Cold on Wikipedia
- Oymyakon on Wikipedia
- Yakutsk on Wikipedia
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