The World’s Coldest Village’s Thermometer Just Broke At -62°C (-80°F), And The Photos Are Breathtaking

Welcome to Oymyakon, a village where students are expected to stay in class until temperatures drop below -52°C (-62°F). The remote Siberian village is thought to be the world’s coldest permanently inhabited settlement, and it has recently plunged into a -62°C (-80°F) winter, making our daily complaints about the weather seem rather silly.

We previously introduced you to this location when photographer Amos Chapple braved the cold. “When I first stepped outside into -47°C (-52°F), I was wearing thin trousers,” Chapple explained. “I remember feeling like the cold was physically gripping my legs; another surprise was that my saliva would occasionally freeze into needles that pricked my lips.”

This time, however, the cold is even more intense, gripping legs and turning people’s eyelashes into icicles. The official weather station at the ‘pole of cold’ read -59°C (-74°F), but the new electronic thermometer read -62°C (-80°F). It even stopped working after reaching the painful point. Some of the 500 residents go even further, claiming temperatures as low as -68°C (-90°F).

In the 1920s and 1930s, reindeer herders would stop in Oymyakon to water their flocks from the thermal spring. The Soviet government later transformed the site into a permanent settlement in an attempt to force its nomadic population to settle down. In 1933, a temperature of -67.7°C (89.9°F) was recorded in the village, which is widely regarded as the coldest ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere.

Welcome to Oymyakon, a remote Siberian village known as the world’s coldest permanently inhabited settlement.

Image credits: anastasiagav

The temperature has just dropped to a bone-chilling -62°C (-80°F).

Image credits: m_troeva

However, life continues in the village despite the freezing temperatures.

Image credits: mnana

Except for local students, who are expected to attend class until temperatures reach -52°C (-62°F),

Image credits: volshebniy_misha

And, believe it or not, people will continue to work.

Image credits: alfi__ya

Street vendors do not need to refrigerate their fish because the ambient temperature is sufficient to keep them from rotting.

Image credits: Vera Salnitskaya

They do, however, need to stay as warm as possible.

Image credits: Vera Salnitskaya

Some tourists that visit Oymyakon are as extreme as its weather

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Photographers experiment with the cold: “I really did take photos of the ballerina outside in minus 41°C, and it’s not photoshopped.”

Image credits: chugunovpetrs

The village is located in Russia’s Sakha Republic’s Oymyakonsky District.

Image credits: khakhsaat_djulus

It takes its name from the Oymyakon River, whose name is derived from the Even word kheium, which means “unfrozen patch of water; place where fish spend the winter.”

Image credits: sivtsevsema958

However, according to other sources, the Even word heyum (hjyм) (kheium could be a misspelling) means “frozen lake.”

Image credits: alfi__ya

Even the new electronic thermometer couldn’t handle the excruciating weather. It exploded after reaching -62°C.

However, approximately 500 people remain in the village.

Image credits: chychakhup

It is located about 750 meters above sea level.]

Image credits: chychakhup

“Right now, we’re brushing snow off our Yakut horses. “This is normal for us,” said one village resident.

Image credits: sivtsevsema958

This chilling location has been dubbed the Northern Pole of Cold.

Image credits: sivtsevsema958

Summers can get quite hot at times. Temperatures exceeding 30 °C (86 °F) are not uncommon in June, July, and August.

Image credits: alfi__ya

Oymyakon was a stopover for reindeer herders in the 1920s and 1930s who would water their flocks from spring to fall.

Image credits: khakhsaat_djulus

However, in an attempt to force its nomadic population to settle, the Soviets later transformed the site into a permanent settlement.

The cold, on the other hand, transforms the entire village into a winter wonderland.

Image credits: ion_ionsky

In 1933, a temperature of -67.7°C (89.9°F) was recorded in the village, which is considered the coldest ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere.

Image credits: mrsirinapetrova

The length of the day there varies from three hours in December to twenty-one hours in June.

Image credits: spiridon_sleptsov

Some people have gotten these icy lashes, which are deserving of becoming the newest beauty trend.

Image credits: anastasiagav
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