Thought your winter was cold? Temperatures in the world’s coldest city have plunged to minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit).
The city of Yakutsk in east Siberia, widely identified as one of the coldest places in the world, has seen an abnormally long cold snap. January is its coldest month and, although they’re accustomed to freezing temperatures, residents in the remote region are taking extra precautions to keep warm.
“You can’t fight it,” one resident dressed in two scarves and multiple layers of gloves, hats and hoods told Reuters. “You either adjust and dress accordingly or you suffer.” Layering, according to another resident selling frozen fish at a local market, was the key. “Just dress warmly. In layers, like a cabbage,” she said.
In 2018, it got so cold that some residents said their eyelashes froze. But the city drew international attention in July when haze from nearby wildfires tore through forests, blanketing the region in thick smoke. Scientists expressed grave concerns about the increasing frequency of the fires brought about by climate change in the Siberian arctic.
“You don’t really feel the cold in the city. Or maybe it’s just the brain prepares you for it, and tells you everything is normal,” she added in the city shrouded by icy mist. Another resident, Nurgusun Starostina, who sells frozen fish at a market without the need for a fridge or freezer, said there were no special secrets to deal with the cold. Find out world’s coldest city with minus 50.
“Just dress warmly,” she said. “In layers, like a cabbage!”
