Top 15 Coldest Places on Earth to visit and Live Now

-Coldest Places on Earth-

You’re probably wondering what the coldest places on earth are, maybe you’re thinking about visiting, or you just want to make a note on, what your reasons are. This article has all the information you need about the coldest place on earth.

Coldest Place on Earth

Coldest Place on Earth

Millions of exceptionally resilient people live in some of the world’s most freezing areas, from cities north of the Arctic Circle to the brutal Poles of the Cold.

 Temperatures often drop below zero degrees Fahrenheit in inhabited areas of Russia, Scandinavia, and North America. Some have even experienced minus 80, 90, or 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Living in these areas may entail traveling by snowmobile, having little supplies, and experiencing complete darkness for 24 hours at a time.

 Even in Antarctica’s Vostok Station, where the lowest temperature at ground level is (minus 128.5), cold-weather settlements flourish despite the challenges. Below is the list of the coldest places on earth:

1. Dome Fuji, Antarctica

Coldest Place on Earth

The Landsat 8 satellite, which focused its instruments on a prominent ridge on the East Antarctic ice sheet in 2010, proved what scientists had predicted about the local climate: it was cold.

This arid, frigid desert was called the coldest place on Earth, with a temperature of -92.3°C, breaking the previous record of the Vostok station, which had stood since 1983.

Although temperatures rarely exceed -30°C, humanity has somehow lived and worked in the area.

The adjacent Dome Fuji Station opened in 1995, and ice cores drilled in the area provide a view into the region’s 720,000-year palaeoclimatic history. Do you want to go? Bring a thermos.

2. Vostok Station, Antarctica

Vostok Station, Antarctica

During the summer months, roughly 25 to 30 people live at Vostok Station. It is located nearly 800 miles from the South Pole in the dead middle of the East Antarctic Plateau.

Only a handful of brave souls will brave the winter months.

While the coldest temperature ever recorded at Vostok Station, minus 128.6, appears to be unfathomable, it might grow colder.

 Temperatures on the ice sheet can reach minus 144 degrees Fahrenheit, according to 2018 research.

How? Extremely dry circumstances squeeze the water vapor out of the atmosphere, allowing any heat released by the ice sheet to escape all the way to space.

This is indeed one of the oldest cities in the world today.

3. Verkhoyansk, Russia

Verkhoyansk, Russia

In Verkhoyansk, Russia, deep in the Siberian forest, 1,311 people dwell according to the 2010 census. This settlement, which began as a fort in 1638, grew into a regional center for cattle raising and tin mining.

 Between the 1860s and the early twentieth century, Verkhoyansk, located 1,500 miles south of the North Pole, was used to host political exiles.

The average temperature in Verkhoyansk’s coldest month, January, is minus 44 degrees, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

From October to April, the average monthly temperature remains below freezing. While the town’s official all-time low is minus 90 degrees Fahrenheit.  

People experienced significantly colder temperatures in February 1892, down to minus 93.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Oymyakon, Russia

Oymyakon, Russia

Oymyakon, located 390 miles away in northeast Russia, is the coldest climate with Verkhoyansk. On February 6, 1933, Oymyakon experienced the lowest temperature ever, minus 90 degrees.

The Guinness World Record for the lowest temperature in an inhabited settlement in the Northern Hemisphere. The two communities officially shared it.

According to the 2010 census, Oymyakon is home to 462 people. The settlement is called after a nearby hot spring, which some locals take advantage of during the winter.

But only after breaking through the heavy layer of snow and ice that surrounds the warm water. The tourism board of Oymyakon uses the cold temperatures to its advantage.

5. Yakutsk, Russia

Yakutsk, Russia

Yakutsk is a Russian port city where the average temperature falls below the freezing point in October and doesn’t rise until May. The average high temperature in January is – 28.4 degrees.

The lowest temperature ever recorded in Yakutsk was minus 83.9 degrees on February 5, 1891.

They projected Yakutsk to have a population of over 300,000 people. Many people make a living in the region’s mining industry. 

 When a succession of pipelines broke into two neighboring villages in 2008, it forced inhabitants to cluster together for warmth around makeshift wood stoves.

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6. Astana, Kazakhstan

Astana, Kazakhstan

Astana is a contemporary metropolis with futuristic buildings, gleaming mosques, and a plethora of retail and entertainment options.

While the summers are pleasant, the winters in Astana are long, dry, and bitterly cold. Although the monthly average for January is 6.4 F/ -14.2 C, extreme lows of -61 F/ -51.5 C have been recorded.

The city’s river is frozen over from mid-November to early April, making it one of the world’s oldest cities.

7. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Mongolia’s capital city is known as one of the world’s coldest. Ulaanbaatar, on a high plateau of 1,300 meters above sea level, is home to about half of Mongolia’s three million people.

Temperatures rarely rise above -16°C in January. Visitors may warm up inside the city’s temples and museums, such as the International Intellectual Museum, which specializes in puzzles, logic, riddles, and games.

8. Snag, Canada

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Snag, a Yukon Territory town holds the record of being the coldest city in Canada. It recorded a temperature of – 81 degrees Fahrenheit on February 3, 1947. This is the coldest temperature ever recorded in continental North America.

 The average temperature in January is minus 13.9 degrees, and the average temperature in July is 57.4 degrees.

9. Yellowknife, Canada

Yellowknife, Canada

250 miles south of the Arctic Circle is the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories.

Yellowknife is the coldest year-round, has the coldest winter, the most intense wind chill, and the longest snow cover season of the 100 Canadian communities surveyed by Environment Canada.

The lowest temperature ever recorded was -60 F/ -51 C, but it also was the sunniest July in Canada.

Yellowknife, rich in gold-rush history, is a destination for explorers, with activities ranging from midnight sun trekking to dog-sledding. Also snowmobiling and witnessing the northern lights.

10. Barrow, United States

Barrow, United States

Barrow is the northernmost city in the United States, above the Arctic Circle in Alaska. It has the coldest average temperature of any Alaskan city.

Which is aggravated by frequent cloud cover and high winds of up to 60 mph.

The sun is below the horizon for 65 days of the year, with just 120 days of the year experiencing high temperatures above freezing.

Despite record low temperatures of -56 F/ -49 C, there are many reasons to visit Barrow.

The rich Iupiat culture, the grandeur of the surrounding tundra, and the chance to see the northern lights in this freezing city are just a few of them.

11. Utqiagvik, Alaska

Utqiagvik, Alaska

Utqiavik, formerly known as Barrow, is the United States’ northernmost cit. It is situated 1,300 miles south of the North Pole and 320 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

The population of 4,467 people lives atop permafrost, which can be up to 1,300 feet deep in some locations.

The sunsets in late November and does not rise again until late January. The average temperature doesn’t rise above freezing until June, and even then, it’s cold. June’s average temperature is only 36 degrees.

Utqiavik is Alaska’s North Slope’s economic heartland, and many of its citizens work in the petroleum business. The city is only accessible by air or water.

12 Klinck Research Station, Greenland

Klinck research station, Greenland

Greenland, the world’s largest island, is rarely populated because of a massive ice sheet that covers much of its surface.

 Intrepid scientists traverse the tundra on snowmobiles with their instruments in the toe to set up meteorological stations in this difficult region.

It was, however, well worth it. These stations have documented some of the most extreme circumstances in the northern hemisphere, besides significant climate science.

The Klinck Research Station is near the ice sheet’s highest point and also exposed to the harshest aspects of the dry, cold continental climate.

13. International Falls, Minnesota

International Falls, Minnesota

International Falls, Minnesota, is one of the coldest cities in the contiguous United States, although being just half as cold as Oymyakon or Verkhoyansk.

 It’s on the banks of the Rainy River, just on the Canadian border. Winters at International Falls are lengthy and frigid, with typical January lows of minus seven degrees.

According to U.S. Climate Data, the area averages roughly 71 inches of annual snowfall, and over 60 nights a year exceed zero degrees.

International Falls, which has a population of 5,811 people, has long fought Fraser, Colorado, and Big Piney, Wyoming, for the coveted title of “Icebox of the Nation.

14. Fraser, Colorado

Fraser, Colorado

Fraser is at an elevation of 8,574 feet in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains and has a population of approximately 1,400 people.

This Middle Park village set inside a magnificent alpine valley suffers from one of the country’s harshest winters.

Thanks to its proximity to the famed ski region Winter Park. The average yearly temperature is about 32.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The average low in June is 29.4.

Fraser has a somewhat warmer winter than International Falls, its main “Icebox of the Nation” competition, but its year-round average is lower.

In 1986, the two towns agreed when Fraser paid International Falls $2,000 to surrender its official claim. After International Falls failed to renew its federal trademark a decade later, another legal battle arose.

15. Hell, Norway

Hell, Norway

The Norwegian hamlet of Hell is well-known for the hilarious juxtaposition of its flaming name and sub-arctic weather.

The coldest month is January, with highs averaging 27.5 degrees and lows averaging 19.4 degrees.

Tourists travel to this tiny community of 1,580 people to take photos in front of one of the village’s iconic train station signs. From December to March, Hell truly freezes over for a third of the year.

This is the list of the 15 coldest cities in the world. However, there are still other distant cities out there and we’ve listed them below:

16. Stanley, Idaho, United States

Stanley, Idaho, United States

Stanley, Idaho, a village 130 miles (209 kilometers) east of Boise, holds the title of the coldest place in the continental United States.

According to a BBC article, the town has the highest number of the coldest days between 1995 and 2005, besides its record freezing temperature.

The White Cloud, Boulder, and Sawtooth Mountain Ranges flanked Stanley. All of which have peaks exceeding 10,000 feet and are within the Rockies (3,048 m).

Three national forests surround the town: the Boise, Challis, and Sawtooth.

17. Prospect Creek, Alaska, United States 

Prospect Creek, Alaska, United States

Prospect Creek is a small town about 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Fairbanks, Alaska.

Originally, it served as a base for mining expeditions and the 27,000 workers working on the Alaskan Pipeline. There has been little activity in the area since they completed the pipeline in 1977.

Prospect Creek holds the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in the United States. A record low temperature of nearly minus 80 degrees F (minus 62 degrees C) was set in January 1971.

According to the Alaska Pipeline Operation Company, despite the freezing conditions, the oil in the pipeline does not freeze thanks to 4-inch-thick (10-centimeter) fiberglass thermal insulation.

18. Verkhoyansk, Siberia

Verkhoyansk, Siberia

Verkhoyansk is a Siberian town near the Arctic Circle as well. They found the town in 1638 and served as a political exile until 1917, was a river port, a fur-collecting station, and the heart of a reindeer-raising area.

It is also the third smallest town in Russia, besides being the third coldest place on the planet. However, there is a silver lining.

While Verkhoyansk boasts some of the world’s coldest winters, it also has a remarkably broad variety of temperatures between seasons.

In January, the average monthly temperature is negative 50.4 degrees F (minus 45.8 degrees C), and in July, it is 62 degrees F (16.9 degrees C).

19. East Antarctic Plateau

East Antarctic Plateau

Researchers reported temperatures of minus 148 degrees Fahrenheit on an ice ridge of the East Antarctic Plateau.

It is between the summits Dome Argus and Dome Fuji, which is the coldest location on Earth (minus 100 degrees Celsius).

This is not only the coldest temperature ever recorded on the planet, but it’s also probably as cold as it gets. During the dark winter months of July and August, scientists studied satellite data collected between 2004 and 2016.

 In 2013, a study of this data revealed record-breaking cold temperatures of minus 135 degrees F. (minus 93 degrees C).

 However, they calibrated the data again using new readings from ground-based meteorological stations that considered air dryness.

20. Oymyakon, Russia

We’d love to hear real estate brokers try to market this area of rural Russia, which is sometimes referred to as the world’s coldest continually inhabited hamlet.

 It has a population of fewer than 1,000 people and is between two valleys, trapping chilly air between them and exacerbating the weather.

Local schools, which are reportedly frozen throughout the winter, only close when temperatures drop below -55°C.

21. The Amundsen-Scott Station

The Amundsen-Scott Station

It’s not the only place where it gets cold. The extreme south can be just as harsh. The Amundsen-Scott Station is at the South Pole.

It is a scientific research station run by the United States and is the world’s southernmost point. Because of its peculiar location, the sun only rises and sets once a year.

This provides six months of sunshine followed by six months of darkness.

The coldest temperature ever recorded during the cold dark period was 101 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius) in 1957.

Only specialist equipment can withstand temperatures like these.

22. Mount Denali, Alaska

Mount Denali, Alaska

Mount Denali, at 6,190 meters above sea level, is North America’s tallest mountain. The mountain, once known as Mount McKinley, is in Alaska’s Denali National Park and is part of the Alaska Range.

Denali’s peak is in snow and glaciers, and it keeps the record for the coldest wind-chill temperature in North America, reaching -83 degrees Celsius in 2003.

The mountain is about 130 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska’s capital city.

23. Norilsk, Russia

Norilsk, Russia

Norilsk, with a population of over 100,000 people, is the world’s most northerly metropolis and one of only three major cities in the continuous permafrost zone.

It has the coldest mean annual temperature of any major city, at 14 F/ -10 C, with lows as low as -63 F/ -53 C in the winter.

Despite having museums, an art gallery, and one of the world’s northernmost mosques, Norilsk is unlikely to become a popular tourist attraction.

 This is because the mining industry has made it one of the most polluted places on Earth, and the city has been closed to foreigners since 2001. The world’s coldest cities aren’t usually the cleanest!

24. Harbin, China

coldest cities

Harbin will not be closed throughout the winter. The ice-cold temperature is ideal for “Ice City” in a city with a population of over nine million people.

 Even temperatures as low as -3°F in January can’t keep visitors away from Harbin’s annual International Ice & Snow Festival.

 It takes place every year from late December to mid-February. You may enjoy a wide range of winter activities, such as ice skating and ice golf, besides the spectacular ice and snow sculptures.

25. Winnipeg, Canada

Winnipeg, Canada

Winnipeg, Manitoba’s capital, is known for its severe cold weather. The city is on a broad prairie with few natural barriers to shield it from the Arctic winds that blow down in the winter.

The average January temperature is above zero (2.5 degrees Fahrenheit), but with the wind, it feels like -40 degrees Fahrenheit.

One of the most popular things to do in Winnipeg’s great outdoors is to go to Oak Hammock Marsh, put on some snowshoes, and search for animal tracks while enjoying the fresh winter air.

26. Ottawa, Canada

Ottawa, Canada

Ottawa residents greet winter with a smile and a pair of skates. Residents of Canada’s capital city make the most of the cold weather by skating to the stores or working on the frozen Rideau Canal.

Despite not having an extreme cold of the others on this list, Ottawa’s average January temperature of 13.6 degrees Fahrenheit makes it one of the world’s coldest cities.

Trek the 93 miles of trails in the Greenbelt area surrounding Ottawa to try cross-country skiing.

27. North Ice, Greenland

North Ice, Greenland

The British North Greenland Expedition established this research station in 1952. Dog sled initially reached it before military aircraft dropped supplies and instruments for a team of explorers and scientists to use.

The temperature reported in 1954 was the coldest ever in the northern hemisphere.

Geology, seismology, physiology, and glaciology were all investigated during the voyage.

How Cold is the South Pole

Even for the coldest place on the earth, the chill was extraordinary.

Between April and September, the average temperature at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station was minus-78 degrees (minus-61 degrees Celsius), the coldest on record since 1957.

 At this distant site, which is run by the United States Antarctic Program and administered by the National Science Foundation, the temperature was 4.5 degrees lower than the most recent 30-year average.

Despite being stunning and surprising, scientists described the record as merely a blip and curiosity as both Antarctica and the world continue to be warm in the face of increasing extreme weather.

FAQs

1. Where is the World’s Hottest Place?

Furnace Creek, as its name suggests, now holds the record for the hottest air temperature ever measured. In the summer of 1913, the desert valley reached temperatures of 56.7°C, putting human survival to the test.

2. Which is the Coldest Place in India?

This picturesque town is located halfway between Kargil and the Zoji La Pass, also known as the Ladakh Gateway. At a height of 10800 feet, the average temperature reported here is -23 degrees Celsius, making it India’s coldest tourist destination.

3. Which is the Coldest City in Pakistan?

The coldest place in Pakistan can be the glacial parts of Gilgit Baltistan, where in winters the average temperature remains below -20. The K2 Peak has recorded -65 °C.

4. Which is the Coldest Place in Asia?

Verkhoyansk, Russia, is Asia’s coldest city, with a measured record low of -90 degrees Fahrenheit, an average (average!) of -50 degrees Fahrenheit, and an all-time high of -17 degrees Fahrenheit in January.

5. Which is the Coldest Country in the World?

Russia. In terms of the coldest temperature ever recorded, Russia is the coldest country on the planet. At the Sakha Republic, temperatures as low as 67.8 °C (90.0 °F) were recorded in Verkhoyansk and Oymyakon.

6. Which is Wettest Place in India?

Mawsynram, a picturesque village in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district, is the wettest place on the planet.

Having comprehensive information about where are you traveling to is very important. Especially when it is the weather condition of where you are traveling to, this would enable you to be more prepared.

Places like Antarctica and Russia have frosty weather. Hence, it is important that you go in the right clothes and other materials while traveling. Whatever your purpose is for this information is, we hope it was useful.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Please share it with your family and friends.

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