Oymyakon, the Coldest Village on the Face of the Earth

This Is The Coldest Human Inhabited Place On Earth | Residents Leave Their Cars Running So They Don’t Stop Working!

Imagine living somewhere so cold that residents are known to leave their cars on all night just so that they make it through the morning start. This is an everyday reality when speaking about the city of ‘Oymyakon.’ Oymyakon, Russia, is one of the coldest inhabited places on Earth, with temperatures that plummet to -72°C (-97.6°F). Living under such extreme conditions means no walking in the park.

It’s a place where the notion of cold assumes quite a different dimension, with daily activities pegged on scratching out a living from this relentless frost. Let’s dive into how locals of this icy enclave put up with the bone-chilling temperatures of their homeland.

“Wearing glasses outdoors can cause them to stick to the wearer’s face.”

The Independent

The Extreme Climate of Oymyakon: Unraveling the Coldest Place on Earth

Oymyakon is a valley that holds frigid air from surrounding mountains in a location that has earned many the dubbing of being the coldest place on earth where people live. Oymyakon recorded its lowest temperature as -71.2 C (minus 96.16 F) back in 1924. The sun does not rise extremely high during winter—up to nine months—and does little to dispel the blackness or mitigate the bone-chilling temperatures. The name ‘Oymyakon’ came from the Oymyakon River. According to the local dialect, it means ‘unfrozen water.’

The coldest place on earth, Oymyakon climate is not for the faint of heart. The average minimum temperature for December, January, and February drops below −50 °C (−58 °F). Residents keep warm in layers of insulated clothing, to overcome what could be the coldest place on earth today.

Summer months are also quite chilly. However, temperatures in June, July, and August have never dropped below −14 °C (7 °F). According to reports, the warmest month was in July 2022 with a recorded average temperature of 19.3 °C (66.7 °F).

Image source: Essa News (A 24-year-old student after winning the coldest marathon in the world)

Everyday Survival in Oymyakon: Life in the Coldest Place on Earth

Daily life in Oymyakon adjusts extraordinarily to the cold. Builders make houses with double-insulated windows and strong structures to resist the cold. Their diet includes heavy intakes of meat, both land and sea alike, such as reindeer, horse meat, and fish. These foods provide energy in the form of calories needed to keep them warm.

Only when temperatures reach below –52°C (-61.6°F) are schools closed in Oymyakon. One of the more interesting features of life in this region is keeping the vehicles on all the time. Leaving one’s car on in Oymyakon is the most crucial trick for survival, keeping it from freezing and letting it run amid life-threatening cold.

Image source: PetaPixel

In Oymyakon, most toilets are made outside of the house due to the challenge of installing plumbing through the perpetually frozen ground. For those who frequently need the restroom, the extreme conditions of the coldest place on Earth make it a challenging environment.

An outside toilet in Oymyakon
An outside toilet in Oymyakon | Image source: Pinterest

Even in death, there is no escaping Oymyakon’s extreme cold. It takes as long as three days to dig a grave since the ground is frozen and hot coals have to be used to thaw it. Only afterward is this intensive preparation possible for excavating the grave and laying the coffin to rest.

Cultural Warmth & Traditions Among Local Community

Life in Oymyakon, despite the severity of the conditions, flourishes due to a strong cultural heritage and a collective fortitude. Thus, winter festivals are common to celebrate everything from ice fishing to reindeer herding activities. Performers also show traditional music and dances, echoing the rich cultural heritage attuned to the landscape. Photographers and filmmakers often capture these performances in their work.

A Yakutian woman in the city centre. Steam from factories, cars and people creates a thick fog in winter which lingers through the coldest weeks, coldest place on earth
Image source: The Weather Channel
Image source: ABC news

Best Time To Visit Oymyakon

The summers are very much bearable in Oymyakon. June to July is considered the best time to visit even though it’s chilly even in summer. The sun hardly sets but visitors can enjoy winter sports like skiing, ice-skating, & dog sledding under comfortable outdoor temperatures.

Image source: Russian Travel specialists

Conclusion

Oymyakon shows us all that humans can live & survive in very cold temperatures too. Oymyakon is so cold and mystic. The people here teach us a lot about resilience, community, and the human spirit. As we explore these icy worlds, we will learn many survival stories of human strength. On the Earth’s coldest settlement, deep connections thrive. Life in Oymyakon is very tough as we can see. Surprisingly it brings much more clarity about the lives & the ‘survival of the fittest’ among human beings. It highlights human resilience and adaptability. Each icy breath proves the strength of the human spirit.

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