Oymyakon in the News as the Coldest Place on Earth

Oymyakon is the coldest town on earth, marking itself as the coldest place on earth hits when it hit temperatures colder than negative 68 degrees Celsius. The towns of Verkhoyansk and Oymyakon are receiving extremely cold temperatures right now, as the winter weather of Russia hits the small town located in the middle of an extremely cold area. The cold spell has drawn attention most recently, as much of the United States has found the winter to be bringing much colder weather than normal, leading many to wonder where the coldest place on earth may be right now.

According to Ecoworldly, Oymyakon is the coldest inhabited place in the northern hemisphere. One of the examples that the web site uses is that it is so cold that birds can freeze to death in mid-flight. This is due not only to the frigid temperatures, but because the wind-chill can drop the air temperature even further, and if there is no protection from the cold, it can mean instant death to anyone not bundled up well. The village is the home of about 800 people, and schools in the area stay open even when there are very cold temperatures. The only point at which they will close their doors is when it hits temperatures colder than negative 52 degrees Celsius.

It goes without saying that Oymyakon is a fishing village, and does a lot of ice fishing, but the news that even this region could be receiving colder temperatures is certainly not going to be welcome. A Russian news outlet was saying that temperatures could go as low as negative 70 degrees Celsius in northeast Siberia, making it almost impossible to survive outdoors in those conditions. Water freezes as soon as it contacts air of this temperature, making it almost unbearable. To compare the temperature scale, negative 70 degrees Celsius is more than negative 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Looking at such freezing temperatures as these taking place in Siberia should make people in the northwestern and eastern United States feel a little bit better, because it's not going to be that cold in the States. It's really hard for some to imagine just how cold these negative temperatures are in Oymyakon, and even harder to imagine why people would want to put up with it during the winter months. For the residents of Oymyakon though, it's just another winter with cold temperatures, and while it is shocking news to the rest of the world just how cold things are getting in northern Siberia, it's just another day of survival for these Russian citizens.

Sources: EcoWorldly Web-site on Coldest Places and Russian News Article for Oymyakon