Winter in Oymyakon, Russia
© Alexandr Berdicevschi/Getty Image
Northern 'Pole of Cold'. Oymyakon, Russia
Oymyakon, Russia, is one of a few places claiming to be the coldest spot in the Northern Hemisphere, a northern 'Pole of Cold.' Centuries of evolving meteorological technology means some historic cold temperatures are considered more accurate than others. The record for ultimate cold is a hot debate.
Oymyakon's claim may be strongest, though. The Siberian town has a verified low-temperature record of minus 89.9 degrees Fahrenheit in 1933 – though if local lore and a Soviet-era monument are accurate, the true low was notched a decade earlier at minus 96.2.
By the way, the southern Pole of Cold blows all claimants to the northern record away like fresh-fallen snow: Russia's Vostok Station, in Antarctica, once recorded a low of minus 128.6! Think the Russians brought the cold with them?
Related Images
Salt ponds of Maras in Peru's Sacred Valley of the Incas
Panoramic view of the Bernina Range with blood moon, Eastern Alps, Engadin, Switzerland
Aerial view of Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, England
Moonlight and the Milky Way over Mount Rainier in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Kedarnath Temple in Uttarakhand, India
Hoar frost and snow in the Cotswolds, England
Lamplugh Glacier in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska
Today on Bing
