What is the coldest city in the world? Siberia’s frozen metropolis, explained (2024)

FAQs

What is the frozen city in Siberia? ›

As a result, Yakutsk is the coldest major city in the world (although a number of smaller towns in that region are slightly colder). Yakutsk is also the largest city located in continuous permafrost; the only other large city is Norilsk, also in Siberia.

Nearly 300,000 people live in Yakutsk, reputed to be the world's coldest city. Its port on Russia's Lena River is a source of the fish that fill markets—and stay rigidly cold in winter.

6) Oymyakon, Siberia, Russia (-67.7°C)

Oymyakon is the coldest permanently-inhabited place on Earth and is found in the Arctic Circle's Northern Pole of Cold. In 1933, it recorded its lowest temperature of -67.7°C.

The coldest city in the world is Yakutsk in Siberia, Russia. A record low temperature was recorded in the city on 5 February 1891 at -64.4°C (-83.9°F). During January, the average low temperature is -42°C (-43.6°F), with the city getting less than four hours of sunlight per day.

Siberia is vast and sparsely populated, covering an area of over 13.1 million square kilometres (5,100,000 sq mi), but home to roughly a quarter of Russia's population. Novosibirsk and Omsk are the largest cities in the area.

At a bone-chilling minus 144 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 98 degrees Celsius), NASA says the East Antarctica Plateau in Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth.

Russia's cold is connected to the strongly negative phase of the climate pattern known as the Arctic Oscillation. When it is negative, the coldest air in the Northern Hemisphere is typically displaced south of the polar region.

The hottest place on Earth is Furnace Creek in Death Valley, California (USA), where a temperature of 56.7°C (134°F) was recorded on 10 July 1913. In summer months, Death Valley has an average daily high of 45°C (113°F).

Fairbanks, Alaska (27.6°F)

Alaska managed to take the win even with our “population of at least 10,000” stipulation. The city experiences a mean annual temperature of 27.6°F—that's below the freezing point! For those interested in records, the lowest temperature on record for Fairbanks is -66°F.

Antarctica is the coldest place on earth.

Is Siberia colder than Moscow? ›

More extreme continental climates at the same latitude- such as parts of Eastern Canada or Siberia- have much colder winters than Moscow, suggesting that there is still significant moderation from the Atlantic Ocean despite the fact that Moscow is far from the sea.

Location: Siberia is located in the northern part of Russia, which means that it is closer to the Arctic Circle and experiences colder temperatures than other regions of the country.

Mali. The title of the hottest country in the world goes to Mali. The West African country experiences a predominantly hot desert climate, particularly in the northern regions, while the southern parts have a semi-arid climate that receives very little rainfall.

Russia has more land area whereas Canada has more maritime exposure, so it's clear that the former has colder land areas. More than 60% of the land in Russia is permafrost. As for records, the lowest is in Russia at -71.2 degrees Celsius. The record low in Canada is -63 degrees Celsius.

Kitezh (Ки́теж) is a mythical city of Russian legend, that has said to have sunk beneath a lake in Siberia, Asian Russia.

Access to Norilsk is restricted for foreign citizens, who are required to obtain special permission to visit the city.

The town of Vorkuta was an infamous Gulag labor camp from the 1930s to 1960s, with prisoners forced to mine the region for coal. A room inside an abandoned building in a village near the coal-mining town of Vorkuta. In the later years of the Soviet Union, people moved from across the USSR to the area for mining jobs.

Oymyakon has two main valleys beside it. These valleys trap wind inside the town and create a colder climate.