The Planet’s Coldest Moments
Do you ever wonder just how cold this planet can actually get? We're not talking about your worst winter morning or that time your car wouldn't start. We're talking about temperatures so brutal they'd freeze your breath mid-air and turn exposed skin into ice in seconds. Some of these places hit numbers that seem physically impossible for humans to survive. Let's explore the iciest corners of our planet.
1. East Antarctic Plateau (Satellite Cold Spot): -135.8 °F (10 August 2010)
NASA's Aqua satellite detected this insane surface temperature in a high-elevation hollow between Dome Argus and Dome Fuji. However, it's not an official air temperature record since satellites measure surface skin temperature.
Stephen Bannister on Wikimedia
2. Vostok Station, Antarctica: -128.6 °F (21 July 1983)
This Russian research station sits high on the East Antarctic Ice Sheet at about 3,488 meters elevation. A thermometer captured the coldest air temperature ever directly measured on Earth here. The World Meteorological Organization officially recognizes this record, and it's held strong for over four decades now.
3. Plateau Station, Antarctica: -123.2 °F (20 July 1968)
The now-abandoned U.S. Plateau Station operated briefly from 1965 to 1969. This temperature hit in July 1968 ranked among the lowest ground-based readings before Vostok's 1983 record broke through. The station's average annual temperature sat around -57°C, colder than Vostok's average during its short operational life.
Jwrit at English Wikipedia on Wikimedia
4. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica: -117.0 °F (23 June 1982)
The U.S. research base at the geographic South Pole recorded this temperature. Located at about 2,835 meters elevation, it's one of the coldest permanently occupied bases anywhere. Six months of continuous winter darkness contribute to the prolonged extreme cold that scientists endure here.
Christopher Michel on Wikimedia
5. Dome Argus (Dome A), Antarctica: -116.5 °F (20 July 2005)
Dome A rises as the highest point on Antarctica’s ice sheet at roughly 4,093 meters. An automated weather station installed through an Australian-Chinese collaboration recorded this extreme low. The site gets only 1–3 centimeters of snow yearly, making it one of Earth's driest places, too.
6. Klinck Automatic Weather Station, Greenland Ice Sheet: -93.3 °F (22 December 1991)
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) verified this as the Northern Hemisphere's lowest temperature, and an automatic weather station on the Greenland Ice Sheet measured it. Recently re-verified after decades, it beat out Siberian records.
InformationToKnowledge on Wikimedia
7. Summit Camp, Greenland: -93.3 °F (22 December 1991)
The U.S. Summit Camp near the Greenland Ice Sheet summit recorded this. It's become a key site for ice core drilling and climate research work. Winters regularly see temps below -60°C here.
8. Oymyakon, Russia: -89.9 °F (6 February 1933)
This remote Siberian village in the Yana River valley hit this temperature in February 1933. Tied for the coldest inhabited place in the Northern Hemisphere, it's officially recognized by the WMO. Kids still go to school down to -55°C here.
9. Verkhoyansk, Russia: -89.8 °F (15 January 1885)
Verkhoyansk ties with Oymyakon for the Northern Hemisphere inhabited cold record. This historic Siberian town holds Earth's record for the greatest temperature range, too, swinging from -67.8°C all the way up to +38°C throughout the year.
Svetlana Sibiryakova on Wikimedia
10. North Ice, Greenland: -87.0 °F (9 January 1954)
The British North Greenland Expedition recorded this temperature at a temporary base. It's one of the earliest extreme cold records from Greenland's interior during post-WWII exploration. The expedition team used dog sleds and weasels to travel through those absolutely brutal conditions back then.
11. Eismitte (Greenland Interior): -84.6 °F (20 March 1931)
The temporary "Eismitte" (Ice Middle) station recorded this during Alfred Wegener's Greenland expedition. Set in the remote central Greenland Ice Sheet interior, it helped confirm early on that Greenland's ice cap ranks among the Northern Hemisphere's coldest zones.
Loewe, Fritz; Georgi, Johannes; Sorge, Ernst; Wegener, Alfred Lothar on Wikimedia
12. Yakutsk, Russia: -83.9 °F (5 February 1891)
Yakutsk is one of the coldest major cities on Earth, built entirely on continuous permafrost. The capital of Russia's Sakha Republic hit this all-time low in February 1891. Residents joke they "dress like a cabbage" in layers to survive winters here.
13. Lake Bulunkul, Tajikistan: -81.4 °F (7 January 1933)
Remote Lake Bulunkul, high in Tajikistan’s Pamir Mountains at over 3,900 meters, recorded the nation’s lowest temperature. Severe continental cold dominates this isolated region, marking it among Central Asia’s harshest inhabited environments.
14. Snag, Yukon, Canada: -81.4 °F (3 February 1947)
Canada and continental North America's official lowest temperature was hit at this former village. A bowl-shaped valley trapped dense, cold air at the old airfield during a prolonged cold snap. Sound also carried unusually far that day.
15. Prospect Creek, Alaska, USA: -79.8 °F (23 January 1971)
The all‑time lowest temperature of the U.S. was recorded at a former pipeline camp. Alaska’s interior valley trapped cold air, pooling away from coastal moderation and creating one of the harshest inhabited climates ever documented.
Evans, Charles D, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Wikimedia
16. Fort Yukon, Alaska: -78 °F (14 January 1934)
This permanently inhabited Alaskan location hit its record low in 1934. Fort Yukon held Alaska's coldest record until Prospect Creek broke it in 1971. Interestingly, this place also recorded the state's highest temperature at 100°F on 27 June 1915.
17. Fort Selkirk, Yukon, Canada: -76 °F (3 February 1968)
A historic trading post on the Yukon River recorded its extreme in 1968. An unofficial reading of around -65°C was also claimed nearby in 1947 but never verified properly, remaining only a debated local record.
18. Denali (Mount McKinley) Summit, Alaska: -75.5 °F (1 December 2003)
An automatic weather station near North America's highest peak summit recorded this in December 2003. At an elevation of 6,190 meters, Denali's position creates savage weather with frequent storms year-round. Older thermometers from early expeditions hinted at unofficial lows approaching -100°F or below in unmonitored conditions.
Virender Singh Malik on Wikimedia
19. Ust-Shchugor, Russia: -72.6 °F (31 December 1978)
This remote village in the Komi Republic holds the record for European Russia's lowest temperature, west of the Urals. Severe Siberian winter conditions created this extreme. Cold air gathers in valleys near the Urals, rivaling Siberian extremes.
Alex Alishevskikh on Wikimedia
20. Genhe, Inner Mongolia, China: -72.4 °F (31 December 2009)
China's northernmost city recorded one of the country's lowest temperatures. The extreme occurred in the taiga forest region near the Siberian border in the Mohe area. Genhe proudly calls itself "China's North Pole."
