Winter in Oymyakon, Russia

© Alexandr Berdicevschi/Getty Image

Brrrrrrrr. Oymyakon, Russia

Oymyakon, Russia, is one of a handful of places which claim 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. There’s heated debate about the exact ultimate cold record.

Oymyakon's claim may be the strongest, though. The Siberian town has a verified low-temperature record of -68C in 1933 - although if local lore and a Soviet-era monument are accurate, the true low was notched a decade earlier at -71C.

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 -89C! Think the Russians brought the cold with them?