Life In Yakutsk: One Of The Coldest Cities On Earth
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As winter storms sweep across the United States, many Americans are feeling the season’s chill. These temperatures may seem frigid, but they are mild compared to those in Yakutsk, one of the coldest cities in the world.
Located in eastern Siberia, Yakutsk is the capital of Russia’s Sakha Republic. It sits about 280 miles (450 km) south of the Arctic Circle. Founded in 1632 as a Russian fort, the city remained mostly insignificant for centuries. That changed in the 1880s when large deposits of gold and high-quality diamonds were discovered nearby. Today, Yakutsk is a modern city of about 300,000 residents. It has hotels, cinemas, an opera house, a university, and even a zoo.
Yakutsk is also home to some unique museums. The NEFU Mammoth Museum is known for its remarkably well-preserved Ice Age fossils. They include woolly mammoths, ancient bison, horses, and dogs. Another attraction, the Permafrost Kingdom, is carved into permanently frozen ground. It features tunnels filled with elaborate ice sculptures that never melt. Both museums offer a glimpse into the region’s ancient past and its frozen environment.
Life in Yakutsk is shaped by its extreme climate. In a typical winter, temperatures often stay below –30°F (–34°C) for weeks at a time and can plunge much lower during cold snaps. For most people, such conditions would mean frequent "snow days." In Yakutsk, however, life continues much as usual. Schools normally remain open unless temperatures drop below –67°F (–55°C). Adults rarely get a day off. For many, this means spending the day selling frozen fish and other goods in outdoor markets.
Despite the extreme cold, residents do not necessarily long for summer. Instead of basking in the 86°F (30 °C) heat, the long summer days are spent repairing homes and businesses to ensure they can withstand another harsh winter. Residents also have to contend with large swarms of aggressive Siberian mosquitoes. Fortunately, the warm season lasts for just a few weeks.
While Yakutsk is the world's coldest city, it is not the coldest inhabited place on Earth. That title belongs to the nearby village of Oymyakon. Home to about 500 people, it holds the record for the lowest temperature ever recorded in a populated area — a bone-chilling –89.9°F (–67.7°C) in 1933. Brrr!
Resources: Wikipedia.org, Visityakutia.com, Brookings.edu
