It may not come as a surprise for many people to learn that Russia is home to the coldest city on earth. The geographical location of this vast country lends itself to some truly cold areas, beyond the comprehension of most travellers from the west and in amongst these icy areas, lies what is officially the coldest city on the planet.
Extreme cold
Yakutsk, in the North East of Russia is the capital of the Sakha Republic and it lies just 450 kilometres – 280 miles – south of the Arctic Circle. It’s location on the Lena River has meant that the city has been a major port and an important part of Russia for many centuries.
Cold facts
In the summer months, temperatures in Yakutsk can be deceptively mild with an average temperature in July of around 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit). In fact, it can be particularly hot at certain times of the year and figures in excess of 80 degrees centigrade aren’t uncommon.
Don’t be fooled however by these relatively balmy figures or you could be in for a shock. In January, average figures drop to around minus 40 degrees centigrade – numbers so extreme that you cannot imagine them unless you have experienced them at first hand.
Setting records
The lowest temperatures in the world outside of Antarctica have been recorded in the basin of the Yana River, in the nearby towns of Verkhoyansk and Oymyakon, both of which share the title of coldest town on earth with a staggering record low temperature of -68 degrees centigrade. Back in the city of Yakutsk itself, the lowest figure ever measured has been minus 64.4 degrees centigrade
The records just keep tumbling and Yakustk is also the largest city in the world to be built entirely on permafrost.
Population and Industry
While the city won’t appear high on the list of favoured tourist destinations, around 260,000 hardy Russian souls call Yakutsk home and that is a figure that has risen steadily over the years.
The City was formed in 1632 as an important fortress town. From there it remained relatively quiet until the discovery of gold and other minerals in the late 19th century saw an influx of inhabitants to Yakutsk.
The city also grew as part of Stalin’s industrial reforms and perhaps somewhat perversely, when large areas of Siberia were deployed to house exiles in the many Gulags around the area, Yakustk also enjoyed steady growth during and indeed after this period.
These days, mining still performs an important role in the economy of the city but the focus has switched away from gold and onto diamonds.
The area around Yakutsk produces a huge amount of Russian diamonds and a significant percentage of all the rough diamonds in the world.
While it may be the coldest city on earth, Yakutsk would give a warm welcome to the few visitors that do come here every year. While many of those tourists arrive just to say that they have been to the chilliest place on the planet, there is much more to Yakutsk that makes the city part of the rich tapestry of Russia.
