Oymyakon

Oymyakon is a small village in the Sakha Republic in Russia's far northeast, on the Indigirka River in the Yana-Oymyakon Highlands. It is known as one of the "Poles of Cold" and is the coldest place on Earth where people live all year round. Winters average around minus 50 degrees Celsius.

Its official record low is minus 67.7 degrees Celsius, measured in 1933, and an unofficial reading of minus 71.2 degrees is often quoted for 1924. Fewer than 900 people lived there in 2018, down from a peak of about 2,500. Local life depends mostly on fur trading and ice fishing.

Why is Oymyakon so cold?

The village sits in a valley at about 750 metres above sea level, with mountains around 1,100 metres high on both sides. Cold, heavy air sinks into the valley and gets stuck there, because the mountains stop warmer winds from coming in. In winter the Siberian High, a huge area of cold air pressure, keeps skies clear and calm, and daylight lasts only a few hours.

Surprisingly, studies show that winter air a little higher up the slopes can be up to 10 degrees warmer than down on the valley floor.

Life and history

Schools close only when it drops below minus 55 degrees Celsius. In summer it is often above 0 degrees, and the short summers are quite mild. During World War II an airfield was built nearby for the air route that carried American aircraft to the Soviet front, and the area lies close to the Road of Bones, a historic route built with great hardship.

The name comes from an Even word, though sources disagree on whether it means unfrozen water (a spot where fish spend the winter) or frozen lake.

On the globe

The model shows a snowy Siberian village in the deep cold of the Sakha Republic; look for the small houses and the frozen landscape.