Show And Tell: The Coldest Inhabited Town On Earth

The pipes get frozen so bathrooms are outdoor. Cars have to be kept running or mechanics will freeze up. And vegetarians will have a tough time here. Here's a look at what it's like to live in the coldest place on earth

Updated on: 3 June 2022 10:40 am

Hot water thrown up turns to ice in Oymyakon, Yakutia.

This is one place which is perpetually on "Winter is coming" mode. This is what it's like when hell freezes over. Okay, enough with the jokes. Especially when the name of the coldest inhabited place on earth is in itself an irony.

An Oymyakon home. Residents here use heated garages to keep the cars Shutterstock

A fish stall in Oymtakon, Russia kid315, Shutterstock

Oymyakon takes its name from the Russian for "water that doesn't freeze." And yet, this remote village in eastern Siberia has an average temperature of around -58 degrees Fahrenheit (that's -50 degrees Celsius) during winter.

A man fills snow for water supply to residents Shutterstock

The last petrol station on the way to Oymyakon district Tatiana Gasich, Shutterstock

The lowest ever was a record -96.16 degrees Fahrenheit (-71.2 degrees Celsius) in 1924. You can see the monument in the town square which marks the day in 1924. North of the Sea of Okhotsk and close to the Arctic Circle, it became a settlement in the 1920s. Before that, it was a popular pitstop for winter herders who used to frequent a thermal spring for their reindeer.

Life can get pretty interesting here. A run to the loo is a feat. Water pipes get frozen and run the risk of bursting, so indoor plumbing is mostly absent and bathrooms are outhouses. People who live here have cars. But the extreme cold could freeze up mechanics. So they are left running, sometimes overnight. Which means gas stations stay open 24 hours a day.

Russki chai or vodka helps deal with the extreme temperatures. The low temperatures mean you cannot grow vegetables here. So locals mostly eat frozen raw fish and meat, including horse liver.

The most frost-resistant horses live in this region Shutterstock

The village gets a short summer when it can go upto 96 degrees Fahrenheit (35.5 degrees Celsius). Winters are harsh. Sometimes a night can stretch on for 21 hours.

Chyskhaan, the Lord of the Cold, is a character from the folkore of Yakutia Shutterstock

Come here during winter end and you can see the Cold Pole Festival. Hosted by Chyskhaan, a Yakutian pagan spirit, it has people taking part in dog sledding, reindeer races, ice fishing, and other sports.