The Pole of Cold: The Coldest Inhabited Place on Earth

The so-called ‘Pole of Cold’ in Yakutia is officially the coldest inhabited place on Earth. Surprisingly it’s significantly colder than even the North Pole!

The village of Omyakon is the best-known claimant to being the ‘Pole of Cold’, but in fact the town of Verkhoyansk has an equal claim to the title, both places having recorded a temperature of minus 67.7 degrees Centigrade in February 1933.

Omyakon is easier to get to than Verkhoyansk, and is also a more attractive place, so in recent years it’s been marketed by canny tourist operatives in Yakutia as the place to go to say that you’ve been to the coldest inhabited place on Earth.

Average minimum temperatures here, in December, January and February, are below minus 50 degrees Centigrade, so if you do plan to visit make sure to bring appropriate clothing!

Find out more… In this episode of Tough Trucks Zay Harding travels by truck across the frozen ice roads of north-eastern Siberia, en route to the Arctic Circle.