Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Visit 'Pole of Cold' - the coldest place in the world - where mercury dips to -71C in winters

What could be the coldest place on earth -  Antarctica or the Arctic?

Well these places are uninhibited and measuring the the chill and the cold is otherwise meaningless. But what about a place where people live and where mercury dips to -71C in winters - making it so cold that even planes cannot land there in winters.

Monument marking the record-breaking temperature of -71.2 recorded in the village in 1924. It reads 'Oymyakon, the Pole of Cold'

The valley of Oymyakon in northeast Russia is known as the 'Pole of Cold' and with an average January temperature of -50C, it is no wonder the village is the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world. And here is the village of Oymyakon which has the lowest recorded temperature for any permanently inhabited location, -71C.


This is the lowest recorded temperature for any permanently inhabited location on Earth and the lowest temperature recorded in the Northern Hemisphere.

Ironically, Oymyakon actually means 'non-freezing water' due to a nearby hot spring.

The village, which is home to about 500 people, was, in the 1920s and 1930s, a stopover for reindeer herders who would water their flocks from the thermal spring. But the Soviet government, in its efforts to settle nomadic populations, believing them to be difficult to control and technologically and culturally backward, made the site a permanent settlement.


It is so cold in winters that burying of the dead  can take anything up to three days. The earth must first be thawed sufficiently in order to dig it, so a bonfire is lit for a couple of hours. Hot coals are then pushed to the side and a hole a couple of inches deep is dug. The process is repeated for several days until the hole is deep enough to bury the coffin.


I am sure you want to know more about the place before planning a 'visit' to Oymyakon. watch the video below before making any such move:



Read more about 'Pole of Cold' and see more photos at: Mail Online
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1 comments:

Ahsan said...

Oh My God how these people live there?