The actual coldest place in the world is believed to be a ridge called Dome Fuji in the East Antarctic Plateau, which, according to satellite data, reached -92.3°C in 2010. This broke a previous record held by Antarctica’s Vostok Research Station, which hit a recorded -89.2°C in 1983, and which still holds the record for the lowest temperature at ground level ever recorded on Earth.
Yet some of the towns and cities on this list have reached temperatures somewhat close to those, and they’re inhabited by everyday people, not penguins or miles of barren ice. Read on to discover five of the coldest inhabited places on Earth, and prepare to feel very, very warm and cozy wherever you are.
Oymyakon, Russia
According to NASA, northeastern Siberia is home to the coldest permanently inhabited places in the world—and the town of Oymyakon might take the cake.
Oymyakon easily claims the title of one of the world’s chilliest permanently inhabited spots. Located on the left of the Indigirka River in Sakha, a republic in northeastern Russia, the town is home to around 500 people.
The area was originally inhabited by the nomadic Evens people, who were forced to permanently settle in the area by Soviet authorities in the 1930s. Later, the area became home to forced-labor camps under the gulag system, and many exiles sent there remained in the town. Some workers also made their way there under the Soviet system because of rewards and bonuses promised by the government.
Today, most houses in Oymyakon have partial heating, but the majority lack indoor plumbing systems—making for very frosty trips to the bathroom in the midst of winter. The town has one store as well as a post office, a bank, and a gas station, a school system, and a small airport. During cold snaps, residents often leave cars running all night to prevent them from completely breaking. Summers can be quite hot, though they only last a few months. Winters, of course, are brutally cold—in 1933, temperatures reached -67.7°C, and frequently linger around -46°C in the winter today.
Verkhoyansk, Russia
Verkhoyansk is another town found in the republic of Sakha that rivals Oymyakon in terms of its wintertime frigidity. It is known for reaching -67.8°C in 1893—and intriguingly, it also holds the Guinness World Record for the place with the greatest difference between its highest and lowest temperatures. In 2011, it reached 38.4°C in the summer, but its winter temperatures often linger in the sub-40°C range.
The town was settled in a very similar way to Oymyakon. It is home to just over a thousand people, and unsurprisingly, winters pose a challenge. Unheated basements serve as gigantic freezers for many, and during cold snaps, staying outside for longer than 15 minutes can cause death.
Yakutsk, Russia
Yet another icy Siberian locale, Yakutsk has the honor of being the world’s coldest city. Temperatures here reached -62.7°C in the winter of 2023, with temperatures generally coldest in January, and this icy city’s lowest recorded temperature was −64.4 °C in 1891.
Here, winter weather often leads to an “ice fog” created when fumes from cars and houses freeze instead of rising. Yet some 355,000 people live in this city, which is known for its diamond and coal-mining industries, and buses and schools run year-round.
Vostok Station, Antarctica
Antarctica is 99% uninhabited due to its extreme conditions. One of the few inhabited areas of the continent is Vostok Station, a Russian research hub located in Queen Elizabeth Land, Antarctica. It is one of ten Soviet research centers in Antarctica, but is the only one found inland. The research center was founded in 1957 and is often used by researchers studying climate and geophysics. It is located above Lake Vostok, Antarctica’s largest subglacial lake.
In 1983, the area around the station reached the coldest natural temperature ever recorded on Earth: -89.2°C. The center underwent significant renovations in 2024, a process that required materials to be carried across 905 frozen miles via heavy-duty tractors. The new building can host around 15 people during the winter and is generally occupied year-round.
Utqiagvik, Alaska
Formerly known as Barrow, this town has the honor of being the northernmost incorporated city in the United States, and is located some 320 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Utqiagvik is also located near the Arctic Ocean, and wind chill from the salty, frigid waters tends to make winters feel even more bitterly cold.
The area has been home to the indigenous Iñupiat people for well over a thousand years. Today, it is an economic hub known for its extremely high cost of living due to its remote location. It serves as a center of government and industry for the region, but hunting, whaling, and fishing still play critical roles in residents’ livelihoods there.
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