9 Coldest Cities In The World Where The Will To Survive Is Stronger Than The Winter Chill

In a country like India, the onset of winters we look forward to. From wearing beautiful coats and sexy boots, everything about winters seems magical for all the right reasons. However, anything extreme is always a little off-putting.

Just like we hate extreme summers that we experience in our country, in certain parts of the world, winter is not just cold. It's brutal.

With below freezing temperatures and frosty winds, these places make for the coldest regions on earth. And if for a second you believe that inhabitation is impossible, think again. Think of human resilience. Think of the will to survive. All of this and more because for the people who live here, it's their home. Not having any other choice, all they are bound to deal with the extreme cold weather. There?is certainly no way out.

If you think your city is cold, you might want to hold on to that thought. The world is full of surprises and then there are cities in the world where it’s so cold, people have to actually melt ice to even be able to drink water. Scary enough? A lot of these cities are only a few kilometers away from the Arctic circle. So one can imagine the hardships people go through.

Hold your breath to know the places you might think twice before visiting if you are not a winter person.

So, here are nine of the coldest cities in the world. They’re not just cold, they’re brutal, and people who live here have some kind of other-worldly resilience to be able to put up with it.?

1. Oymyakon, Russia

This village in Siberian Russia is only a few hundred kilometres away from the Arctic Circle. With a population of 500 residents, Oymyakon competes for the coldest place on Earth with another village in the same region, Verkhoyansk.

bored panda

The average temperature in January dips to 50 degrees Celcius. In 1933, the coldest temperature ever recorded for the region was 67.7 degrees Celcius. The cold is so severe that residents park their cars in heated garages to prevent the engines from getting conked off. They don't wear spectacles as the frames freeze to their face. As farming is impossible, the locals eat a diet of reindeer or fish and even consume ice cubes of horse blood along with macaroni to keep warm.?

2.?Verkhoyansk, Russia

This Siberian village located in the Yakutia region is as cold as Oymyakon. In winters, the only way to travel to the region is by driving over the frozen Yana river and in summers, by a helicopter as the river thaws. Life is not very different here. People choose to hibernate during winters by keeping their homes warm with a central heating plant that runs round the clock, and by working up a wood fire.?

holt lloyd

During the age of Soviet Union, Verkhoyansk served as a place of exile for political prisoners. Today, the region is inhabited by their descendants and Yakut hunters, who together make up for Verkhoyansk's population of 1,300.

3. Snag, Canada

Snag is a small village located near the Alaska Highway in Yukon, Canada. The temperature dips to its lowest in the month of January where the lowest temperature ever recorded in North America was minus 63 degrees Celcius in 1947.?

ladakh.camp

The winters get so chilly that people usually stay indoors to avoid getting frost bites.?

4. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

In Mongolia's capital city, Ulaanbaatar, the temperature reached minus 41 degrees Celcius in 2015. Although the city's 1.3 million residents are used to the harshness of winter, it's the air pollution that takes a toll on their health.?

live from ub

The people reside in tent-like houses called yurts that are heated by coal. During winter, people tend to stay inside their homes as the city becomes blanketed with a low-hanging smog. The government is now working towards getting the residents shifted out of the yurts and into houses with central heating systems.

5. Astana, Kazakhstan

The capital city records temperatures between minus 30 to 35 degrees Celcius during winters. With a population of over 800,000 people, Astana boasts of being the second coldest capital city after Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.?

flickr

Astana has a continental climate with warm winters and extremely cold and dry winters. The city's river remains frozen all through November till April.?

6. Harbin, China

Because of its acute winter climate, Habin is known as the "ice city". It is the capital of Heilongjiang province in China. It has a population of nearly 10 million people who host one of the world's largest ice festivals called the Hardin International Show and Ice Festival.?

yang lu photography

Normally, the winter temperatures hover around minus 22 to minus 24 degrees Celcius. But temperature as extreme as minus 44 degrees Celcius has also been recorded. Harbin is known for its coldest and longest winter season among most Chinese cities.

7. Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada

The capital of Canada's Northwest Territories, Yellowknife is around 514 kilometres away from the Arctic Circle and is home to over 20,000 people. It has a subarctic climate where the normal low temperature can dip to minus 32 degrees Celcius in the month of January.

tripadvisor

Yelloknife is known as the 'coldest Canadian city' where it recorded the lowest temperature of minus 51 degrees Celcius in February 1947. The city also provides "long and clear" nights for anyone who wishes to witness the aurora borealis from November to April.?

8.?Yakutsk, Sakha Republic, Russia

Yakutsk is the capital of Sakha Republic in Russia. It witnesses some of the harshest winters which over 200,000 people survive every year. In January, the temperature hovers from minus 38 to minus 41 degrees Celcius.?

amos chapple

Located only a few hundred kilometres from the Arctic Circle, Yakutsk receives the winter season before most other cities in the world. Its subarctic climate makes the winters extremely harsh and severe.?

9. Vostok, Antarctica

Vostok is located around 1,000 kilometres from the South Pole and has a population of scientists who work inside the world's most isolated research station. Vostok is the driest and the most inhospitable region in the world where temperatures dip to minus 129 degrees Celcius!

wikipedia

During winter, the station received no sunshine from May till August. But when it does, it becomes the sunniest place on the planet, receiving 22.9 hours of sunlight! It's quite the place to inhabit where survival is next to impossible.?

There you go. Now the winter in your city doesn’t sound so bad, does it? At least you can wear spectacles without the frame getting frozen stuck on your face. Who knew even that could count as a luxury?