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| Photo Credit : Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (flickr; license; no edits) Yakutsk, Russia |
As the latitude gets higher, meaning as we go more northerly, the climate is getting colder until we reach Santa's factory outlet. So, does this mean that the North Pole is the coldest place on Earth or in the Northern Hemisphere? The answer, however, is a "no". Although the daily mean from January to March, hovers around -31° to -32°C, and the average low hovers around -33°C to -35°C, these figures are handily beaten by at least three inhabited places 20+ degrees latitude below the North Pole.
Is it still in Canada or in the US state of Alaska? ...Nope. Although the average low in Eureka, Nunavut (in Canada) during February is competitive at -41°C, with a record low of -55°C; the figures, however, are not even considered close. Snag, Yukon (in Canada) holds the lowest verified recorded temperature in continental North America at -62.8°C [1], while Prospect Creek, Alaska (in US) holds the title as the coldest place in the US when it registered -62.1°C [8]. These figures are close, but the thing is that these places are no longer inhabited.
Let's imagine how cold are these places in terms of the Canadian wind chill index [2]:
-48 to -54 translates into freezing of exposed skin in 2 to 5 minutes, while -55 and colder translates into freezing of exposed skin in less than 2 minutes and was marked as "DANGER!".
And to think that these are indices that consider the wind factor on top of the base air temperature (note the absence of the degree (°) symbol). How much more if the base temperature is -60°C and below. In this case, it would mean that the effect of the wind chill index, hovering around in the -70's, -80's or even -100's, would be unthinkable. (Just saw these -60+°C figures as outside air temperature while traveling on a plane.)
Now, let's meet three of the coldest inhabited places on Earth with a very cold greeting. If it's not found in Canada or in the US, then we shouldn't forget the rival during the Cold War (although not related to air temperature): Russia.
As many of us might already know, Russia is famous for its bitter winters, particularly the geographic region of Siberia (note the difference with the political region called "Siberian Federal District"). Getting more specific within the Siberian region will lead us to Sakha Republic and three of its human settlements: Yakutsk, Oymyakon, and Verkhoyansk. Their temperature records are as follows (mean annual temperature figures are taken from 1930-2014 data at their respective meteorological stations [3]):
Yakutsk:
-9.6°C (annual mean temperature) [3];
-42.5°C (coldest month mean temperature) [4];
-64.4°C (record low) [5]
Verkhoyansk:
-14.9°C (annual mean temperature) [3];
-47.7°C (coldest month mean temperature) [4];
-67.6°C (record low) [1][6][8]
Oymyakon:
-16.0°C (annual mean temperature) [3];
-47.6°C (coldest month mean temperature) [4];
-67.7°C (record low) [1][7][8]
Extraordinary. Even more extraordinary is that these places are inhabited in contrast to the American record holders. Oymyakon has around 500 inhabitants in 2011; Verkhoyansk has around 1,300 (2010 census); and the amazing major city, Yakutsk, has around 270,000 inhabitants (2010 census). This makes Yakutsk the coldest city on Earth, while Oymyakon and Verkhoyansk vie for the coldest settlement/village on Earth. Officially speaking, however, Oymyakon currently holds this title [9] given its record low temperature, but it only beat Verkhoyansk by a mere 0.1°C difference on the records. The figures for the record low temperature were actually questioned and a paper by N. Stepanova in 1958 [1] was published to identify the more reliable figures. If the record-low figures, set in the years before 1950, still hold until now, then the figures are very close; and one thing for sure we know that these two towns are the coldest inhabited places on Earth, and literally, danger zones during winter.
Humans are indeed hardy species, and it seems that the Russians take the top spot in terms of enduring the extremely cold climate. Now, what is the reliably recorded coldest place on Earth, regardless of whether it is a permanent human settlement? In this case, we shouldn't forget a place in Antarctica called the "Vostok Station", around 1,300km away from the South Pole. Yeah, there goes the Russians again! At a record low of -89.2°C, it handily beats the Northern Hemisphere records, and it seems that there is an anomaly between our polar regions. North Pole registered "only" a record low of -50.6°C [8], whereas the South Pole through the US "Amundsen-Scott Station" registered a record low of -82.8°C [8]. There is a 30+ degree difference between the two poles, and the reason behind this is that the stations involved are located at a land mass and in high elevations. Vostok Station is around 3,488m above sea level, while Amundsen-Scott Pole station is at 2,835m above sea level. North Pole, on the other hand, is on the Arctic Ocean, and temperatures are recorded through drifting stations of polar expeditions.
So, who gets to visit Santa more often in terms of ship expeditions? Is it the Canadians? US Americans? Just get the pattern, and that would lead us to the Russians! And guess what, the Russian flag was even placed on the ocean floor, where the North Pole is exactly located. (The thing is that they might have searched for Santa under the ocean as well.)
We have been talking about the coldest inhabited places in the Northern Hemisphere, and this leads us to a question about the coldest uninhabited place in the northern half of the Earth as well, that has regular meteorological observations. In that case, it is held by the short-lived British "North Ice" research station in Greenland, where the record low is -66°C [8]. If it has been in operation for a long time, then it might have recorded temperatures lower than that, given the elevation of 2,341m above sea level. If somebody is interested in putting up research stations at the mountains of Alaska and the Yukon territory in Canada, then they are also good candidates for the coldest uninhabited place in the Northern Hemisphere, officially speaking.
Going back to Siberia, how does a below -50°C temperature feel like? An account from BBC [10] tells us that at -53°C, with just a few minutes outside, pain can be felt on exposed skin, damp surfaces freeze, and the extremities can turn uncomfortably cold very quickly even if covered with layers of thick garments. It is highly probable that running is necessary from one place to another in order to get to the nearest store. A visitor will probably get used to that extremely frigid temperature after several days, and will soon find that -20°C is balmy. So how about -80°C? Did anybody from the Vostok Station tried roaming around? For sure, any exposed skin would mean losing that portion of your body. In that case, that would be a really good reason to wear an astronaut suit.
Some references:
[1] N. Stepanova, "On the Lowest Temperatures on Earth", 1958.
[2] http://www.ec.gc.ca/meteo-weather/default.asp?lang=En&n=5FBF816A-1#table1
[3] R. Desyatkin, A. Fedorov, A. Desyatkin, and P. Konstantinov, "Air Temperature Changes and their Impact on Permafrost Ecosystems in Eastern Siberia", Thermal Science Vol. 19, Suppl. 2, 2015.
[4] J. Kolbek, M. Srutek, and E. Box, "Forest Vegetation of Northeast Asia", 2003.
[5] http://time.com/3798383/yakutsk-the-coldest-city-on-earth/
[6] https://www.britannica.com/place/Verkhoyansk
[7] http://cn.worldheritage.org/articles/Siberia
[8] http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/arc2012/alm12feb.htm
[9] http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/lowest-temperature-inhabited
[10] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-11875131
