The coldest village on Earth

From the Korea Times:

If you thought it was cold where you are at the moment then a visit to the Russian village of Oymyakon might just change your mind.

With the average temperature for January at -50 C, it is not surprising that the village is the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world (people live there all the time).

Known as the 'Pole of Cold', the coldest ever temperature recorded in Oymyakon was -71.2 C.

This is the lowest recorded temperature for any permanently inhabited location on Earth and the lowest temperature recorded in the Northern Hemisphere

The village, which is home to around 500 people, was, in the 1920s and 1930s, a stopover for reindeer herders who would water their flocks from the thermal spring (hot water that comes from under the ground).

reindeer

But the Soviet government, in its efforts to settle nomadic populations (groups of people who move from place to place), believing them to be difficult to control and technologically and culturally backward, made the site a permanent settlement.

Ironically, Oymyakon actually means 'non-freezing water' due to a nearby hot spring.

A thermal or hot spring

 Most homes in Oymyakon still burn coal and wood for heat and enjoy few modern conveniences (electric stoves, refrigerators).

Nothing grows there so people eat reindeer meat and horsemeat. A single store provides the town's bare necessities (food, clothing etc.) and the locals work as reindeer-breeders, hunters and ice-fisherman.

ice fishing

Doctors say the reason the locals don't suffer from malnutrition (bad health caused by not enough food) is that their animals' milk contains a lot of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).

Unsurprisingly, locals are used to the weather and unlike in other countries where snow can cause problems such as the closing of schools, Oymyakon's only school only shuts if temperatures fall below -52 C.

The village is located in the far north of Russia, which means that the length of a day varies from 3 hours in December to 21 hours in the summer. And despite its terrible winters, in June, July and August there are often temperatures over 30 Celsius.