Oymyakon, Russia

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Oymyakon, Russia

Oymyakon, a town in Russia's enormous eastern region, is generally considered the coldest inhabited area on Earth. It’s also one of a few places claiming to be the coldest spot in the Northern Hemisphere. Centuries of evolving meteorological technology means some historic cold temperature records are considered more accurate than others, but Oymyakon’s claim may be the strongest. The Siberian town has a verified low-temperature record of −67.7 degrees Celsius in 1933, although there is a monument built around the town square commemorating an unofficial reading in 1924 of −71.2 degrees Celsius.