A Thermometer Just Broke At -62°C (-80°F) In The World’s Coldest Village, And The Photos Are Breathtaking
Welcome to Oymyakon, a village where students are expected to attend class till temperatures reach minus -52°C (-62°F). The remote Siberian village is considered to be the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world, and it has just plummeted into a -62°C (-80°F) winter, making our daily complaints about the weather sound rather silly.
We already introduced you this place when a photographer Amos Chapple traveled there to brave the freeze. “I was wearing thin trousers when I first stepped outside into -47°C (-52°F),” Chapple said. “I remember feeling like the cold was physically gripping my legs, the other surprise was that occasionally my saliva would freeze into needles that would prick my lips.”
This time, however, the cold is even stronger, not only gripping legs but turning people’s eyelashes into icicles as well. The official weather station at the ‘pole of cold’ registered -59°C (-74°F), but the new electronic thermometer claimed the weather was -62°C (-80°F). In fact, it even stopped working after reaching the painful mark. Some of the 500 locals go beyond that, claiming the temperatures are as low as -68°C (-90°F).
In the 1920s and 1930s, Oymyakon was a stopover for reindeer herders who would water their flocks from the thermal spring. In attempts to force its nomadic population into putting down roots, the Soviet government later transformed the site into a permanent settlement. In 1933, a temperature of -67.7°C (−89.9°F) was recorded in the village, accepted as the lowest ever in the Northern Hemisphere.
(h/t siberiantimes)
Welcome to Oymyakon, a remote Siberian village which is considered to be the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world
Image credits: anastasiagav
The temperature there has just plummeted to a chilling -62°C (-80°F)
Image credits: m_troeva
In the village, however, the cold that could freeze your eyeballs hasn’t stopped life
Image credits: __mnana__
Except for local students who are expected to attend class till temperatures reach at least minus -52°C (-62°F)
Image credits: volshebniy_misha
And, believe it or not, people are still going to work
Image credits: alfi__ya
Here’s what driving under such conditions looks like
Image credits: _yakutia
Street venders have no need to refrigerate their fish as the air temperature is enough to keep them safe from rotting away
Image credits: Vera Salnitskaya
They do, however, need to keep themselves as warm as possible
Image credits: Vera Salnitskaya
“While filming the trading rows my hands froze to wild pain,” the journalist said. “Sellers stand here all day long. How do they warm themselves?”
Some tourists that visit Oymyakon are as extreme as its weather
Image credits: pototskayaelena
This group from China weren’t afraid to dip in the thermal spring in about -60°C
Image credits: pototskayaelena
Photographers try using the cold in creative ways: “I really did take pictures of the ballerina outside in minus 41°C, and it’s not photoshopped”
Image credits: chugunovpetrs
The village lies in Oymyakonsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia
Image credits: khakhsaat_djulus
It is named after the Oymyakon River, whose name reportedly comes from the Even word kheium, meaning “unfrozen patch of water; place where fish spend the winter”
Image credits: sivtsevsema958
According to other sources, however, the Even word heyum (hэjум) (kheium may be a misspelling) means “frozen lake”
Image credits: alfi__ya
The painful weather was too much even for the new electronic thermometer. It broke after reaching -62°C
Image credits: sivtseva9452
But about 500 people still live in the village
Image credits: chychakhup
It stands approximately 750 meters above sea level
Image credits: sivtsevsema958
“Now we’re brushing the snow off our Yakut horses. For us this is normal”, told one resident of the village
Image credits: sivtsevsema958
People have nicknamed this chilling place as the Northern Pole of Cold
Image credits: sivtsevsema958
And although winters in Oymyakon are long and excessively cold
Image credits: leonidkruglov
Summers can sometimes become hot. In June, July and August temperatures over 30 °C (86 °F) are not rare
Image credits: alfi__ya
In the 1920s and 1930s, Oymyakon was a stopover for reindeer herders who would water their flocks from the spring
Image credits: khakhsaat_djulus
But in attempts to force its nomadic population into putting down roots, the Soviets later transformed the site into a permanent settlement
Image credits: ion_ionsky
Recently, someone even captured a cyclist braving a -48°C cold in the nearby Yakutsk city
The cold does, however, make the whole village look like a winter wonderland
Image credits: ion_ionsky
It’s not everyday you’ll see such beauty in a mine tunnel
Image credits: sakhamin
In 1933, a temperature of -67.7°C (−89.9°F) was recorded in the village, accepted as the lowest ever in the Northern Hemisphere
Image credits: mrsirinapetrova
There, day length varies from three hours in December to twenty-one hours in June
Image credits: spiridon_sleptsov
So you’ll have to be quick if you want to go sightseeing in the winter
Image credits: sagilana08
And while the locals are still going on about their daily lives
Some have gotten these icy lashes that are perfectly worthy of becoming the newest beauty trend
Image credits: anastasiagav
So, I was actually complaining about it being 30 Fahrenheit in Houston this morning, where we got a light dusting of snow... but... I'll just shut up now.
San Antonio here. A ton of stores, including ours, closed down for the day due to ice from the 20-something degree weather. Then I see this and now I feel like a punk.
Load More Replies...1. Those eyelashes are going to be new internet trend. 2. That's how the mammoths got extinct. 3. Why that thermometer has anything above 0 degree. 4. That is lot of cold, I am sure those negative temperatures cannot be reached even in some industrial refrigerators. 5. Beautiful pics.
Answer to question 3. "Summers can sometimes become hot. In June, July and August temperatures over 30 °C (86 °F) are not rare". They must have a wide range of different clothes :D
Load More Replies...Very soon there will be a Baptismal Feast. And all of us will go to the traditional Orthodox bathing in the ice-hole. This is Russia baby....
I lived in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada for 5 years. Winters there were a consistent -45 to -55 from Dec.1 through February 28 th. I worked outside at the Shell Oil Plant. You get used to it or you went home.
When I was in school we had always had to go outside during the breaks (not allowed to hang out in the halls) unless it was below -30 C. This was in Finland during the 1990s and 2000s so I don't know if this has changed since.
In Lithuania in primary school we were allowed to not attend classes if there was -25C outside. -30C was the limit for middle and high school. Unfortunately, working people needed and need to work even in temperatures bellow that. But I can hardly remember when it was lower than -25C during recent winters.
Load More Replies...Hi im from this place. Republic of Sakha (Yakutya). Someone wonder about our boots. Its called UNTY made from fur of deer. Very decorative and warm.
Brave people. I live in almost the mildest area of the UK and I still hate it when the temperature drops.
It's often -40 in Ottawa, goes till -48 or so. I also went to school. I found after -20, it's all the same cold. By the end of winter everyone is depressed af.
Thank you Panda for posting these pictures in the dead of winter. You sadistic bastards. What's in going to be this summer? The Mojave? Sahara?
And here I am, wearing my ski-socks to bed while it's about 6 degrees Celsius outside (no not -6, but +6 that is...). I feel like a loser (with warm feet)
During the long winter months in Edmonton, Alberta Canada (usually 6 months) it's very common for the temperatures to dip below -40C with the wind chill, and THAT is beyond cold! I can't even fathom 22 degrees colder!
That's why I left and never went back. No, thank you!
Load More Replies...Stunning scenery but no thanks, you wouldn't get me going there !!!!
Tropical people like me would have been dead in time the airplane's door opened..Coldest I've ever been was only ±6°C and I'd shivered already..
I am near death if it gets warmer outside than 25 C. I'll take -40C over that kind of heat any day! lol
Load More Replies...Make up artists the world over are now scrambling to try to figure out how to replicate the look of FROZEN EYELASHES!! Theyre beautiful!
Are you cold looking at these pictures? Brrrrr. So many questions in my mind. Does a sneeze turn into solid bits of snot? How can some of those folks stand to have bare hands?? Do the eyelashes break-off from the cold? Rhetorical questions mostly...
Eyelashes are fine, they defrost pretty quickly when you go inside. :)
Load More Replies...Last week me and my family flew into san antonio from Iowa and it was mildly chilly and the people at the airport said they couldn’t drive because it was to cold. It was thirty five degrees....
Be thankful for that. We can't drive for c**p - well, in general - but ESPECIALLY if it's under 50. You're safer in the airport.
Load More Replies...Hilarious... we got a little bit of sleet last night that didn't even stick and half of Dallas shut down. These people go to work with their eyes frozen shut. Yeah first world problems. lol
Animals that live there are actually the most well adjusted of all!
Load More Replies...The pictures are amazing especially the one of the gold church (I think its a church) with the frozen trees in front. It's really beautiful but, too cold for me.
It is a church indeed:) Orthodox churches look gorgeous in snowy winters indeed. Although honestly...anything looks gorgeous in an appropriately snowy winter XD
Load More Replies...Most of these pictures are not Oymyakon. Most are the city of Yakutsk. Oymyakon is just a tiny place. Video of woman brushing Siberian miniature horses at -60C ( -70sF) is Oymyakon. How do those animals just stand there? What’s it take for them to be too cold? I don’t know why, but I don’t like seeing people doing stupid, show off things in the cold - like walking naked etc. Trivializing nature for their egos.
I have a dream of going there one day. I love winter, but coldest I've ever had was -40-ish Celcius(did like, also did wear gloves which is uncommon for me:D) and I'd like to know what the REAL cold feels like. I also find these kind of sceneries absolutely stunning.
... and I am just listening the idiot on the radio advising to be careful because the temperature is about to fall to near zero !!!
It was - 14 in Indy a night or two this month. I'm done complaining. I can't wrap my mind around this kind of cold.
It was -14 a night or two in Indianapolis. I'm done complaining. I can't wrap my mind around - 80.
As usual, BoredPanda writers can write some pretty interesting, and completely misleading/untrue titles to their little story pictures. Like this gem "There, day length varies from three hours in December to twenty-one hours in June" Sigh...well, I'm pretty sure that the length of the day there is still 24 hrs long, maybe they meant the sunshine? Whaddya think ;)
From what I've heard, living in cold climates makes your blood thick. Warmer climates, thinner blood.
I should stop complaining about the -9 we got in Longmont the other day...
Wah! that's so cold! They must have the best clothes for the winter, huh?
"Some tourists are as extreme as the weather"... But not their dog!! Lmao!
I'm not going to become a global warming denier...I don't care how cold it gets.
You wonder where this kind of cold goes to when it is becoming increasingly warmer. I know the tilt of the earth's axis but dang - imagine how cold it was getting back during the Ice Ages! Brrrrr
Just incredible that mankind can thrive in such extreme climates !!
Great pics !! Really amazing that mankind can thrive in such extreme climates..
Frostbite is a big concern in those temperatures. We here in Maine have suffered from below zero temperatures for weeks. Along with winds that drive the wind chill to 35 or 40 below. Frostbite can occur in just a few minutes of exposure of any skin. Stay safe you guys.
The coldest I've ever experienced with windchill was -52c, but the actual temperature was in the mid -40's and that was so cold that I opened a door with my bare hand and was touching the metal handle for about 5 or 6 seconds (holding it open for someone) and I could still feel a slight burn in my fingers from it 45 minutes later. I can't even imagine what -62 would feel like. Respect for putting up that that. Or pity. Maybe pity.
Mercury freezes at -37 C so those are alcohol thermometers. The record in Canada (-81.4 F or -63 C) was set when the alcohol withdrew below the lowest temperature on the thermometer but the observer had the foresight to scratch a line where the alcohol bottomed out. It was then sent to a lab for calibration. They might try that the next time it goes off scale.
It was 13 on the western slope of Colorado this morning.. and warmed to 52... I lived in Idaho and for 6 weeks it would be -30 at the base of the Tetons.
WOW, these pictures are gorgeous. I live in Minnesota and it gets cold here in winter, but nothing like this! I guess it's like they say, "You get used to it". (I'd never get used to cold like that!)
That is a little too cold for me. I am not a big fan of when it gets to below 0 Fahrenheit/17.8 Celsius in Michigan.
This is so beautiful! I love winter (I live in MN). I'd be perfectly happy there until that above-86 degree weather.
Talk about a "Three Dog Night!" Those poor people are going to need every big furry dog in the world!
Those "people" in the fifth photo down are not people - they are either mammoths or elephants! But I did find the photography amazing, especially the two most beautiful that didn`t involve fish! :)
Did you really think anyone would mistake them for people??? LOL!!! Too funny!!
Load More Replies...Thanks for the pretty pictures, but there's no way I'll be going there. I got more than enough cold weather growing up in Central and Northern Alberta, thanks. How much do I hate the cold? Put it this way...I grew up about a three hour drive from some of the best skiing on the planet, and I never learned.
Super low temp is good to prevent cancer. Low temp keeps entropy at minimum, less genetic defects.
Um... So the article is about Oymyakon but most of the pictures, if not all, are from Yakutsk, which is about a one day drive southwest. Were authentic pictures from Oymyakon not 'fun' enough, or did this low temp actually hit Yakutsk? I'm confused.
Why did 3 people downvote you stating (if you are correct) a fact?
Load More Replies...I don't consider people dying in The US and around the world from climate change -- even just a worst winter than usual -- 'silly'. Get real. I live in NM, USA, and we lose about 50 homeless people every winter, due to the cold weather. I've never considered that 'silly'.
Some of these pics clearly aren't from Oymyakon. Either author got confused or just didn't have enough pics of actual village. Far as cars go? They never turn the engines off in winter, not at night, never, because if it goes off it will never start. That's relatively common for places where below -40 is the norm.
Load More Replies...Right, cue the usual people who can't separate climate change and weather patterns....ho hum.
Load More Replies...So, I was actually complaining about it being 30 Fahrenheit in Houston this morning, where we got a light dusting of snow... but... I'll just shut up now.
San Antonio here. A ton of stores, including ours, closed down for the day due to ice from the 20-something degree weather. Then I see this and now I feel like a punk.
Load More Replies...1. Those eyelashes are going to be new internet trend. 2. That's how the mammoths got extinct. 3. Why that thermometer has anything above 0 degree. 4. That is lot of cold, I am sure those negative temperatures cannot be reached even in some industrial refrigerators. 5. Beautiful pics.
Answer to question 3. "Summers can sometimes become hot. In June, July and August temperatures over 30 °C (86 °F) are not rare". They must have a wide range of different clothes :D
Load More Replies...Very soon there will be a Baptismal Feast. And all of us will go to the traditional Orthodox bathing in the ice-hole. This is Russia baby....
I lived in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada for 5 years. Winters there were a consistent -45 to -55 from Dec.1 through February 28 th. I worked outside at the Shell Oil Plant. You get used to it or you went home.
When I was in school we had always had to go outside during the breaks (not allowed to hang out in the halls) unless it was below -30 C. This was in Finland during the 1990s and 2000s so I don't know if this has changed since.
In Lithuania in primary school we were allowed to not attend classes if there was -25C outside. -30C was the limit for middle and high school. Unfortunately, working people needed and need to work even in temperatures bellow that. But I can hardly remember when it was lower than -25C during recent winters.
Load More Replies...Hi im from this place. Republic of Sakha (Yakutya). Someone wonder about our boots. Its called UNTY made from fur of deer. Very decorative and warm.
Brave people. I live in almost the mildest area of the UK and I still hate it when the temperature drops.
It's often -40 in Ottawa, goes till -48 or so. I also went to school. I found after -20, it's all the same cold. By the end of winter everyone is depressed af.
Thank you Panda for posting these pictures in the dead of winter. You sadistic bastards. What's in going to be this summer? The Mojave? Sahara?
And here I am, wearing my ski-socks to bed while it's about 6 degrees Celsius outside (no not -6, but +6 that is...). I feel like a loser (with warm feet)
During the long winter months in Edmonton, Alberta Canada (usually 6 months) it's very common for the temperatures to dip below -40C with the wind chill, and THAT is beyond cold! I can't even fathom 22 degrees colder!
That's why I left and never went back. No, thank you!
Load More Replies...Stunning scenery but no thanks, you wouldn't get me going there !!!!
Tropical people like me would have been dead in time the airplane's door opened..Coldest I've ever been was only ±6°C and I'd shivered already..
I am near death if it gets warmer outside than 25 C. I'll take -40C over that kind of heat any day! lol
Load More Replies...Make up artists the world over are now scrambling to try to figure out how to replicate the look of FROZEN EYELASHES!! Theyre beautiful!
Are you cold looking at these pictures? Brrrrr. So many questions in my mind. Does a sneeze turn into solid bits of snot? How can some of those folks stand to have bare hands?? Do the eyelashes break-off from the cold? Rhetorical questions mostly...
Eyelashes are fine, they defrost pretty quickly when you go inside. :)
Load More Replies...Last week me and my family flew into san antonio from Iowa and it was mildly chilly and the people at the airport said they couldn’t drive because it was to cold. It was thirty five degrees....
Be thankful for that. We can't drive for c**p - well, in general - but ESPECIALLY if it's under 50. You're safer in the airport.
Load More Replies...Hilarious... we got a little bit of sleet last night that didn't even stick and half of Dallas shut down. These people go to work with their eyes frozen shut. Yeah first world problems. lol
Animals that live there are actually the most well adjusted of all!
Load More Replies...The pictures are amazing especially the one of the gold church (I think its a church) with the frozen trees in front. It's really beautiful but, too cold for me.
It is a church indeed:) Orthodox churches look gorgeous in snowy winters indeed. Although honestly...anything looks gorgeous in an appropriately snowy winter XD
Load More Replies...Most of these pictures are not Oymyakon. Most are the city of Yakutsk. Oymyakon is just a tiny place. Video of woman brushing Siberian miniature horses at -60C ( -70sF) is Oymyakon. How do those animals just stand there? What’s it take for them to be too cold? I don’t know why, but I don’t like seeing people doing stupid, show off things in the cold - like walking naked etc. Trivializing nature for their egos.
I have a dream of going there one day. I love winter, but coldest I've ever had was -40-ish Celcius(did like, also did wear gloves which is uncommon for me:D) and I'd like to know what the REAL cold feels like. I also find these kind of sceneries absolutely stunning.
... and I am just listening the idiot on the radio advising to be careful because the temperature is about to fall to near zero !!!
It was - 14 in Indy a night or two this month. I'm done complaining. I can't wrap my mind around this kind of cold.
It was -14 a night or two in Indianapolis. I'm done complaining. I can't wrap my mind around - 80.
As usual, BoredPanda writers can write some pretty interesting, and completely misleading/untrue titles to their little story pictures. Like this gem "There, day length varies from three hours in December to twenty-one hours in June" Sigh...well, I'm pretty sure that the length of the day there is still 24 hrs long, maybe they meant the sunshine? Whaddya think ;)
From what I've heard, living in cold climates makes your blood thick. Warmer climates, thinner blood.
I should stop complaining about the -9 we got in Longmont the other day...
Wah! that's so cold! They must have the best clothes for the winter, huh?
"Some tourists are as extreme as the weather"... But not their dog!! Lmao!
I'm not going to become a global warming denier...I don't care how cold it gets.
You wonder where this kind of cold goes to when it is becoming increasingly warmer. I know the tilt of the earth's axis but dang - imagine how cold it was getting back during the Ice Ages! Brrrrr
Just incredible that mankind can thrive in such extreme climates !!
Great pics !! Really amazing that mankind can thrive in such extreme climates..
Frostbite is a big concern in those temperatures. We here in Maine have suffered from below zero temperatures for weeks. Along with winds that drive the wind chill to 35 or 40 below. Frostbite can occur in just a few minutes of exposure of any skin. Stay safe you guys.
The coldest I've ever experienced with windchill was -52c, but the actual temperature was in the mid -40's and that was so cold that I opened a door with my bare hand and was touching the metal handle for about 5 or 6 seconds (holding it open for someone) and I could still feel a slight burn in my fingers from it 45 minutes later. I can't even imagine what -62 would feel like. Respect for putting up that that. Or pity. Maybe pity.
Mercury freezes at -37 C so those are alcohol thermometers. The record in Canada (-81.4 F or -63 C) was set when the alcohol withdrew below the lowest temperature on the thermometer but the observer had the foresight to scratch a line where the alcohol bottomed out. It was then sent to a lab for calibration. They might try that the next time it goes off scale.
It was 13 on the western slope of Colorado this morning.. and warmed to 52... I lived in Idaho and for 6 weeks it would be -30 at the base of the Tetons.
WOW, these pictures are gorgeous. I live in Minnesota and it gets cold here in winter, but nothing like this! I guess it's like they say, "You get used to it". (I'd never get used to cold like that!)
That is a little too cold for me. I am not a big fan of when it gets to below 0 Fahrenheit/17.8 Celsius in Michigan.
This is so beautiful! I love winter (I live in MN). I'd be perfectly happy there until that above-86 degree weather.
Talk about a "Three Dog Night!" Those poor people are going to need every big furry dog in the world!
Those "people" in the fifth photo down are not people - they are either mammoths or elephants! But I did find the photography amazing, especially the two most beautiful that didn`t involve fish! :)
Did you really think anyone would mistake them for people??? LOL!!! Too funny!!
Load More Replies...Thanks for the pretty pictures, but there's no way I'll be going there. I got more than enough cold weather growing up in Central and Northern Alberta, thanks. How much do I hate the cold? Put it this way...I grew up about a three hour drive from some of the best skiing on the planet, and I never learned.
Super low temp is good to prevent cancer. Low temp keeps entropy at minimum, less genetic defects.
Um... So the article is about Oymyakon but most of the pictures, if not all, are from Yakutsk, which is about a one day drive southwest. Were authentic pictures from Oymyakon not 'fun' enough, or did this low temp actually hit Yakutsk? I'm confused.
Why did 3 people downvote you stating (if you are correct) a fact?
Load More Replies...I don't consider people dying in The US and around the world from climate change -- even just a worst winter than usual -- 'silly'. Get real. I live in NM, USA, and we lose about 50 homeless people every winter, due to the cold weather. I've never considered that 'silly'.
Some of these pics clearly aren't from Oymyakon. Either author got confused or just didn't have enough pics of actual village. Far as cars go? They never turn the engines off in winter, not at night, never, because if it goes off it will never start. That's relatively common for places where below -40 is the norm.
Load More Replies...Right, cue the usual people who can't separate climate change and weather patterns....ho hum.
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