TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Exploring the coldest places on Earth is like stepping into nature’s frostbitten extremes, each offering a fascinating glimpse into the planet’s wildest, most unforgiving climates and the powerful forces that shape global weather patterns.
With temperatures plummeting to minus 98 degrees Celsius, these bone-chilling places set records, sometimes even earning a spot on extreme holiday lists for the truly adventurous.
The Coldest Places on Earth
According to New Scientist, a popular science and technology publication, these are some of the contenders for the Earth's coldest spots:
1. Eastern Antarctic Plateau, Antarctica (-94 to -98°C)
The Eastern Antarctic Plateau holds the title of the coldest place on Earth. NASA data recorded that its bone-chilling temperatures plummet to a staggering minus 94°C. To uncover this icy record, scientists analyzed satellite data collected over a remote ridge of the Antarctic Ice Sheet between 2004 and 2016.
2. Vostok Station, Antarctica (-89.2°C)
Founded by the Soviet Union in 1957, Vostok Station carved its name into the record books in July 1983 when it registered a bone-numbing temperature of minus 89.2°C, the coldest ever recorded on Earth. But the chill isn’t the only extreme here as Vostok is also one of the planet’s driest spots, receiving a mere 20 millimeters of precipitation each year, making it a frozen desert unlike any other.
3. Amundsen-Scott Station, Antarctica (-82.8°C)
Perched at the very bottom of the globe, the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station recorded a brutal low of minus 82.8°C back in June 1982. Life at this remote research hub is no less extreme, with scientists enduring a relentless six months of darkness each year, as sunlight only graces the icy landscape for the remaining half of the year.
4. Denali, Alaska, the United States (-73°C)
Soaring over 6,000 meters above sea level, Denali, also known as Mount McKinley, claims the crown as North America’s tallest peak and one of its coldest. The mountain has seen temperatures plunge to a bone-chilling minus 73°C, with fierce winds pushing the wind chill factor even lower, to a staggering minus 83.4°C. Even during milder periods, average temperatures hover around a frosty minus 10°C, making Denali a true titan of Arctic endurance.
5. Klinck Station, Greenland (-69.6°C)
Greenland’s vast ice sheet is melting at an alarming pace, presenting some of the clearest evidence yet of a warming planet. Among the icy expanse, the Klinck weather station, once dubbed the coldest point within the Arctic Circle, has not been spared. Despite once outfreezing Siberia’s Oymyakon by a full two degrees back in December 1991, Klinck is now witnessing the creeping grip of climate change firsthand.
6. Oymyakon, Siberia, Russia (-67.7°C)
Tucked deep within the Arctic Circle’s notorious Northern Pole of Cold, Oymyakon holds the chilling record as the coldest permanently inhabited place on Earth. Home to fewer than 500 hardy residents, this remote Siberian village endures brutal winters so severe that, according to New Scientist, schools are forced to close when temperatures plunge below minus 55°C or during the darkest periods of the season.
7. North Ice, Greenland (-66.1°C)
Joining the ranks of the coldest places in the world is North Ice, a former British research outpost that etched its name into climate history with a frigid low of minus 66.1°C recorded in 1954. Established during the British North Greenland Expedition of the 1950s, the station served as a vital hub for polar exploration and scientific discovery in one of the harshest environments on the planet.
8. Yakutsk, Siberia, Russia (-64.4°C)
Nestled in the heart of Russia’s vast permafrost, where frozen ground blankets 55 percent of the country, Yakutsk stands as one of the coldest cities on the planet. Each year, as the region descends into its long and unforgiving winter, temperatures drop so drastically that the mighty Lena River freezes solid, turning into a temporary ice road.
9. Snag, Yukon Territory, Canada (-62.8°C)
Once a temporary emergency landing strip during World War II, the remote village of Snag in Canada has since transitioned from wartime urgency to meteorological significance. Now functioning as a weather station, Snag earned its place in the record books when researchers recorded an astonishing low of minus 62.8°C, making it one of the coldest places ever measured in North America.
10. Prospect Creek, Alaska, the United States (-62.1°C)
Prospect Creek was once buzzed with life as a workers’ settlement during the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System in the 1970s before eventually falling into silence. Even now, as a frozen ghost town, it still holds the title of the coldest place ever recorded in the United States, where temperatures plunged to a brutal minus 62.1°C in January 1971, sealing its legacy in America’s icy history.
These coldest places on Earth remind us just how extreme our planet can be. If, however, you are more intrigued by the balmy weather, explore some of the hottest countries in Asia here.
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