If you think that in Spain we spend cold winters, you have to know Oymyakon , the coldest town on the planet. And it is that in this inhabited place, extremely low temperatures have been recorded. The minimum took place in 1926, when the thermometers read -71.2º C. Incredible, don’t you think?
Of course, there are corners on Earth colder than this place. However, Oymyakon holds the record for the coldest permanently occupied place in the world. And is that the average temperature in January is -50º C. Do you want to know more information about this chilly place? Well, do not miss anything that we tell you below!
Located between mountains
Located about 7,000 kilometers from Moscow, specifically in the Republic of Yakutia, the coldest inhabited town on the planet is home to about 500 inhabitants who are capable of withstanding extreme temperatures. Of course, it must be taken into account that Oymyakon is located in a valley between huge mountains , which protect the place from the wind, so the low temperatures are relatively bearable. In fact, in summer temperatures of up to 35ºC can be reached.
The development of Oymyakon
The town was born between 1920 and 1930, when a group of reindeer herders settled there after finding some hot springs. This is precisely where the name of the town comes from, which means "water that does not freeze." During the height of the Soviet regime it became quite a rich city thanks to the gold, silver, platinum and other precious metals found in the mountains. Today, however, it is a town that lives thanks to local resources, mainly livestock, hunting and fishing, in addition to tourism, of course.
Problems in everyday life
As you can imagine, the cold causes different problems that make daily life difficult, such as freezing of glasses or pen ink, or the loss of power of mobile phone batteries … In addition, in winter the vehicles are completely covered by the snow and in summer the road becomes almost impassable because of the mud. It must also be taken into account that cars must have double glass and must remain with the engine running throughout the day so that the gasoline does not freeze, something that happens at 46ºC.
As if there were few problems, we must not forget that when temperatures are below -52º C, schools are closed. It is even difficult to bury the deceased , since the ground freezes and it is very difficult to dig. On the other hand, it must be taken into account that the houses do not have pipes. For this reason, the toilets are located outside the houses, which are made of wood and are very well insulated from the outside. In addition, curiously the milk is sold solid. Yes! Yes! As you are reading it!
Nine months of winter
On the other hand, it must be borne in mind that the day does not always last the same. In fact, while in summer they can reach 9 pm, in December we can find days of only three hours. The same happens with winter, which lasts no more and no less than 9 months.
Would you dare to travel to this place? Well, more and more people are doing it! We leave you with our gallery , where you can discover more images of this amazing Russian city. Do not miss it!
