The coldest city in the world is in Russia

During the winter months, temperatures can drop significantly and even go below 0°C. However, there are places in the world where the temperatures during the winter months are constantly in the minus and do not get warmer, but people still choose to live there. In 2023, this city recorded a temperature of -50°C.

The title of the coldest city belongs to the Russian city of Yakutsk, which is located in Siberia. This city is located in one of the coldest and most sparsely populated regions in Russia and has only 336,200 inhabitants. Most of the residents of this town work in the diamond mine in nearby town.

Temperatures in Yakutsk have reached -60°C, and some residents claim to have experienced lower temperatures and colder days, however, such temperatures could not be recorded because the thermometer only shows up to -63°C. The lowest temperature was recorded on February 5, 1891 and was −64.4°C, and the highest temperature was 38.4°C in July 2011.

January is the coldest month in Yakutsk with an average temperature of -43.2°C, but in summer, temperatures often rise to over 30°C. The average temperature in July is 18.8°C, while in summer it is as high as 38°C.

Yakutsk has the lowest winter temperatures of any city of its size or major city on Earth. Average monthly temperatures in Yakutsk range from 19.9°C in July to −37°C in December. Winters are extremely long and cold, so temperatures above zero have never been recorded in this city in the period from November to March. Summers are sunny, warm and sometimes hot, with daily maximum temperatures exceeding 30°C.

However, while Yakutsk is the coldest city, there are other, smaller populated places that are colder than it. Yakutsk is located next to the officially coldest place in the world, Oymyakon, and the drive between these two cities takes about 21 hours. Oymyakon is a Russian village of about 500 people, where the lowest temperature of -71.2°C was recorded in 1924.

Extreme climatic conditions prevail here. It is so cold that most houses are built on concrete foundations to withstand the cold temperatures. It is interesting that many engines are left on all night, because if they stopped at a temperature of -50 °C, they would no longer be able to start.