30 of the Coldest Places on Earth Where People Actually Live

Verkhoyansk shares the record for the lowest temperature recorded in a permanently inhabited place with Oymyakon, Russia: −67.7 °C. Average January minimum temperatures here are −45.4 °C and in the winter of 2012, a pack of about 400 hungry and probably very cold wolves attacked the town with its 1,300 or so residents.

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In summer, the pendulum swings the other way with average July temperatures of 16.5 °C. However, it’s not uncommon to experience temperatures of above 30 °C.

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Like Verkhoyansk, Oymyakon boasts a record lowest recorded temperature of −67.7 °C. When the mercury drops to below freezing in late September, it may remain there all the way through to the middle of May.

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The 500 residents of Oymyakon use all kinds of strategies to stay warm, including that Russian favourite: vodka.

Yakutsk has a population of about 300,000. With average January lows of −38.6 °C, it’s the world’s coldest major city.

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The people of Yakutsk will warn you not to wear glasses when you’re outside in winter because the frames may just get frozen to your face!

With more than 175,000 residents, Norilsk is the northernmost city in the world with a population of over 100,000. Its average January low temperature is −30.9 °C, making it one of the coldest large cities on the planet.

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You don’t want to get stuck in Norilsk in winter. Apart from the cold and the fact that this nickel-mining city is one of the most polluted in the world, the polar night means that for about six weeks it remains dark.

Fort Good Hope, also called the Charter Community of K’asho Got’ine, has a population of a little over 500 people. The economy of this Northwest Territories village is based on hunting and trapping.

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January minimum temperatures in Fort Good Hope average −31.7 °C but the wind chill can make the mercury drop to below −60 °C.

The Minnesota town of International Falls calls itself the ‘Icebox of the Nation’, being one of the coldest towns in the contiguous USA. It has a population of around 6,300.

The lowest temperature ever recorded in this town along the Canadian border was −48 °C, but the average low for January is−21.4 °C.

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The true icebox of the USA is Barrow, Alaska, which has average January lows of −28.6 °C. The coldest month here is actually February, with average lows of −29.1 °C.

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With a population of around 4,300, Barrow is the northernmost city in the USA. In the winter there is no sun for 30 days, which is why Barrow was the perfect setting for the film '30 Days of Night'.

Contrary to what you might think, Ottawa is not the coldest capital in the world. It isn’t Moscow either. It’s Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia.

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Winter temperatures in Ulan Bator usually vary between −36 and −40 °C. Discontinuous permafrost makes building difficult in some parts of the city, so people in the suburbs often live in yurts (basically a round tent).

The permanent research base of Eureka, Nunavut has the lowest average recorded temperatures in Canada. The annual mean temperature here is −18.8 °C and in February, the coldest month, the mercury drops to an average low of −41.1 °C.

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Nobody lives permanently in Eureka, but researchers come and go on a rotational basis, so there’s always someone living here.

The coldest place in the world is Vostok Station, a Russian research station in Antarctica. During the Antarctic winter, temperatures average about −65 °C while summers are a positively balmy −42 °C. The lowest temperature ever recorded was at Vostok in 1983: −89.2 °C!

Vostok is a permanent research station but it's not a place where you’d want to settle. The hottest it has ever been here was −12.2 °C, one lovely summer’s day in 2002. The wind chill once hit −124 °C and the polar night lasts for more than four months. Ugh.

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According to data from NASA, Plateau Station, Antarctica is home to the coldest recorded temperature on earth. It happened on August 10, 2010 when the temperature dropped to a brisk -93.2C.

Pretty in the summer, but c-c-cold in the winter. The coldest temperature recorded in Canada occurred in Snag on February 3, 1947, when the thermometer bottomed out at -63C. Locals noted that because of the weather conditions, voices travel for miles.

Fort Selkirk also claims ownership of the coldest temperature recorded in Canada, the title officially held by Snag. They claim it hit -65C on February 3, 1947, but the way the temperature was recorded (not in a standard instrument shelter) means it isn't considered 'official'.

Little more than a German weather station, Eismitte is located in the middle of Greenland. The conditions are brutal. According to Conde Naste Traveller, the average February temperature is -46.6C. The coldest temperature recorded here was a chilly -65C.

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The Telegraph reports that Denali (Mount McKinley) in Alaska is considered the coldest mountain on the planet. Winter temperatures hover around -40C. BRR!

According to AccuWeather, the Siberian town of Dudinka can be a difficult place to spend the winter. The average low in January is -33C. The average high is just -24.5C.

Harbin, China also makes AccuWeather's list of coldest cities. 'Ice City' is home to more than 10 million people and hosts an annual ice festival. January lows hover around -23C.

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Winnipeg can definitely have harsh winters. It's one of the coldest major cities in North America with January lows averaging around -20C. In February 1966, the temperature hit -45C.

Yellowknife is mentioned by AccuWeather as well. Not surprisingly, the city of 20,000 gets quite cold in the winter. Normal highs in January are around -21C. But, if you can handle the long nights and frigid weather, you'll be treated to the northern lights on a regular basis.

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According to Conde Nast Traveller, a research station in Greenland recorded a temperature of -66C on January 9, 1954. Not on the bucket list.

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