Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth with Mercury plunging as low as record -82 degree centigrade in the lonely island made of ice. Hundreds of people live in Antarctica and along with the Arctic belt, the continent forms the Tundra region that faces extremely cold temperatures in the six months long winter they face each year. However, they aren’t permanently settled areas as scientists and researchers come and go, and there aren’t permanent dwellings there where people live. The coldest inhabited town in the world is Oymyakon deep in the heart of Siberia, Russia that has also been called the third pole of the world due to its extreme temperature differences between summers and winters. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Oymyakon is -67 degrees centigrade that is the lowest temperature ever recorded in any inhabitable area. The average mercury of Oymyakon is a freezing -34 degrees. It a few months in summer when it gets above the freezing point, and people can wear lighter clothes.
Unlike other claimers, Oymyakon is a permanently populated village all year long, and the tough residents have adapted to the cold. The Russian government has provided the isolated population with some of the basic amenities and thus, the lives of the people have become easier over the years considering they have been living there for quite some time. Located near Yakutsk, the town seldom sees any visitors and most people who go there are tourists hoping to enjoy the time of their lives in the coldest place on Earth and photographers who aim to take the perfect pictures of the mythical frozen lands. The main challenge they face is to use their camera zoom as it tends to freeze in place from time to time. But, they still go out and take beautiful, serene pictures of the tiny village and its activities. Here are some of the most amazing pictures taken over time:
There is a coal heating plant, a single shop and a solitary school for the 500 inhabitants of the village. The schools doesn’t close even in ultra-cold temperatures and people get about business in this ice hell.
But in summers, the place lightens up and becomes a very beautiful spot. What a contrast, don’t you think?
So, would you like to visit this place or maybe try to live there for some time? I sure hope you bring a lot of thermals with you if you do!