31-745: Oymyakon is a rural locality (a selo ) in Oymyakonsky District of the Sakha Republic , Russia, located in the Yana-Oymyakon Highlands , along the Indigirka River , 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Tomtor on the Kolyma Highway . Oymyakon is the coldest permanently inhabited human settlement on Earth, with an average winter temperature of around −50 °C (−58 °F). The settlement
62-465: Is mostly fur trading and ice fishing. Most inhabitants of Oymyakon are either Orthodox Christians or non-religious . Aiyy Faith and Shamanism also have a presence in the area. With an extreme subarctic climate ( Köppen climate classification Dfd , Trewartha climate classification Ecle ), Oymyakon is known as one of the places considered the Northern Pole of Cold , the other being
93-566: Is named after the Oymyakon River, whose name reportedly comes from the Even word kheium , meaning "unfrozen patch of water; place where fish spend the winter". However, another source states that the Even word heyum (hэjум, хэюм; kheium may be a misspelling), which means "frozen lake", may be where it gets its name. Oymyakon has two main valleys beside it. These valleys trap wind inside
124-441: Is on average more than 45 °C (81 °F) milder during winter. In summer and particularly during July, on the other hand, Verkhoyansk is significantly warmer than its Norwegian counterpart. Verkhoyansk has a dry climate with little rainfall or snowfall; the average annual precipitation is 182 millimeters (7.2 in). Although no month can be described as truly wet, there are strong seasonal differences in precipitation, with
155-552: Is permanently frozen ( continuous permafrost ). There is a monument built around the town square commemorating an unofficial reading in January 1924 of −71.2 °C (−96.2 °F). This was shown on the Australian program 60 Minutes in a 2012 documentary. On 6 February 1933, a temperature of −67.7 °C (−89.9 °F) was recorded at Oymyakon's weather station. This was almost the coldest officially recorded temperature in
186-791: Is quite dry, but as average monthly temperatures are below freezing for seven months of the year, substantial evaporation occurs only in summer months. Summers are much wetter than winters. Due to its harsh winters, the plant hardiness zone in Oymyakon is 0a. A small number of trees such as the Dahurian larch can still grow nonetheless. Types of inhabited localities in Russia The classification system of inhabited localities in Russia and some other post-Soviet states has certain peculiarities compared with those in other countries. During
217-521: Is shared with Oymyakon . Cossacks founded an ostrog in 1638, 90 kilometers (56 mi) southwest of the modern town. The ostrog's name "Verkhoyansky", roughly translating from Russian as [thing/ostrog] on the Upper Yana (grammatically, it's only a masculine adjective), derived from its geographical location on the upper reaches of the Yana River . In 1775, it was moved to the left bank of
248-407: Is the only place on earth with a temperature range of 105 °C (189 °F) or higher. Verkhoyansk has never recorded a temperature above freezing between November 10 and March 14. Verkhoyansk has an extreme latitude temperature anomaly when compared with Røst off the coastline of Norway . Both settlements are on 67°N and almost on the same latitudal decimal. In spite of this, Røst
279-680: Is −14 °C (7 °F). On 20 June 2020 and again in June 2023, Verkhoyansk recorded a temperature of +38.0 °C (100.4 °F), yielding a temperature range of 105.8 °C (190.4 °F) based on reliable records, which is tied with Oymyakon for being the greatest temperature range in the world. It was also the highest temperature above the Arctic Circle ever recorded. Only a handful of towns in Siberia and Canada have temperature ranges of 100 °C (180 °F) or more, and Verkhoyansk
310-500: The Northern Hemisphere (Verkhoyansk had recorded −67.8 °C (−90.0 °F) on 5 and 7 February, 1892). Only Antarctica and Greenland have recorded lower official temperatures (the lowest being −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F), recorded at Vostok Station on 21 July 1983). The unofficial record cold temperature is roughly 8 °C (14 °F) warmer than the sublimation point of carbon dioxide . During some years
341-705: The Soviet time, each of the republics of the Soviet Union , including the Russian SFSR , had its own legislative documents dealing with classification of inhabited localities. After the Dissolution of the Soviet Union , the task of developing and maintaining such classification in Russia was delegated to the federal subjects . While currently there are certain peculiarities to classifications used in many federal subjects, they are all still largely based on
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#1732775645562372-671: The Verkhoyansk Range , one of the main mountainous zones of the Eastern Siberian System . The town is located close to the northwestern edge of the Yana-Oymyakon Highlands , a cold and sparsely populated area. Orthodox Christianity is the most widely professed faith in Verkhoyansk, with a significant non-religious population. Shamanism and Aiyy Faith also have a presence in the town. Verkhoyansk sees excessively cold winter temperatures and some of
403-801: The Vostok Station in Antarctica on 21 July 1983, and a temperature of −93.2 °C (−135.8 °F) was recorded via satellite observations at the East Antarctic Plateau in Antarctica on 10 August 2010. The World Meteorological Organization has recently recognized a temperature of −69.6 °C (−93.3 °F) measured in Greenland on 22 December 1991 as the lowest in the Northern Hemisphere. The record
434-556: The administrative center of the district, and 675 kilometers (419 mi) north of Yakutsk , the capital of the Sakha republic. As of the 2010 Census , its population was 1,311. Verkhoyansk holds the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded north of the Arctic Circle, with 38.0 °C (100.4 °F), and it also holds the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in Asia , −67.8 °C (−90.0 °F). The cold record
465-663: The framework of administrative divisions , it is incorporated within Verkhoyansky District as the Town of Verkhoyansk. As a municipal division , the Town of Verkhoyansk is incorporated within Verkhoyansky Municipal District as Verkhoyansk Urban Settlement. There is a river port , an airport, a fur-collecting depot, and the center of a reindeer-raising area. Verkhoyansk gives its name to
496-445: The town of Verkhoyansk , located 629 km (391 mi) away by air. The weather station is in a valley between Oymyakon and Tomtor . The station is at 750 m (2,460 ft) above sea level and the surrounding mountains, at 1,100 m (3,600 ft), cause cold air to pool in the valley: in fact, recent studies show that winter temperatures in the area increase with altitude by as much as 10 °C (18 °F). The ground
527-501: The Arctic Circle, Verkhoyansk has an extreme subarctic climate rather than a tundra climate , dominated much of the year by high pressure . This has the effect of cutting off the region from warming influences in winter and together with a lack of cloud cover leads to extensive heat losses during the cooler months. Verkhoyansk is one of the places considered the northern Pole of Cold , the other being Oymyakon , located 629 km (391 miles) away by air. The lowest recorded temperature
558-536: The Yana River to facilitate tax collection. It was granted town status in 1817. Between the 1860s and 1917, the town was a place of political exile, with some of the more prominent exiles including the Polish writer Wacław Sieroszewski , as well as Bolshevik revolutionaries Ivan Babushkin and Viktor Nogin . As an inhabited locality , Verkhoyansk is classified as a town under district level jurisdiction. Within
589-473: The contrast July is the month where every day has had temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F). Every day of the year has a record low below freezing, with 9 July having the highest record low at −1.5 °C (29.3 °F). In contrast, 4 January has the lowest record high at −27.9 °C (−18.2 °F). Although winters in Oymyakon are long and extremely cold, summers are mild to warm, sometimes hot, with cool to cold summer nights. The warmest month on record
620-547: The district of Aeroport , for the Alaska-Siberian ( ALSIB ) air route, used to ferry American Lend-Lease aircraft to the Eastern Front . Oymyakon is located near the historic Road of Bones . Over the last few decades, the population of Oymyakon has shrunk significantly. The village had a peak population of roughly 2,500 inhabitants, but that number has dwindled to fewer than 900 in 2018. The local economy
651-489: The greatest temperature differences on Earth between summer and winter. Average monthly temperatures range from −44.7 °C (−48.5 °F) in January to +16.5 °C (61.7 °F) in July. Mean monthly temperatures are below freezing from October through April and exceed +10 °C (50 °F) from June through August, with the intervening months of May and September constituting very short transitional seasons. Located within
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#1732775645562682-411: The only other known places in the world that have a temperature amplitude higher than 100 °C (180 °F). Fort Yukon, Alaska , falls 1 degree C short of this threshold. Also, Oymyakon is tied with Verkhoyansk for the highest temperature amplitude in the world, and Verkhoyansk is tied with Fort Yukon for the warmest temperature above the Arctic Circle ever (38 degrees C; 100 degrees F). The climate
713-566: The summer being much wetter than the winter; yet interestingly, because the driest month (April) is in the "summer" and has less than one-third the precipitation of the wettest "winter" month (October), Verkhoyansk's climate technically qualifies as Köppen Dsd , a classification found only in parts of eastern Siberia. The dryness experienced in winter is largely due to the dominance of high pressure at this time of year. Finally, Verkhoyansk has very low seasonal lag , with December being colder than February, and June warmer than August. Interestingly,
744-486: The system used in the RSFSR. In all federal subjects, the inhabited localities are classified into two major categories: urban and rural. Further divisions of these categories vary slightly from one federal subject to another, but they all follow common trends described below. In 1957, the procedures for categorizing urban-type settlements were further refined. Multiple types of rural localities exist, some common through
775-403: The temperature drops below 0 °C (32 °F) in late September and remains below freezing until mid-April. Oymyakon has never recorded an above-freezing temperature between 26 October and 16 March inclusive. In Oymyakon sometimes the average minimum temperature for December, January, and February falls below −50 °C (−58 °F): in the record coldest month of January 1931 the monthly mean
806-466: The town and create a colder climate. The temperatures here are extremely cold for most of the year, and it snows frequently in spring and autumn, but rarely in summer and winter, due to the Siberian High in winter, and temperatures being commonly above 0 °C (32 °F) in summer. Schools are closed if it is colder than −55 °C (−67 °F). During World War II, an airfield was built in
837-476: The whole territory of Russia, some specific to certain federal subjects. The most common types include: Verkhoyansk Verkhoyansk (Russian: Верхоянск , IPA: [vʲɪrxɐˈjansk] ; Yakut : Верхоянскай , Verhoyanskay ) is a town in Verkhoyansky District of the Sakha Republic , Russia , located on the Yana River in the Arctic Circle , 92 kilometers (57 mi) from Batagay ,
868-527: Was July 2022 with an average temperature of 19.3 °C (66.7 °F). In June, July and August temperatures over 30 °C (86 °F) are not rare during the day. On 7 July 2022, the warmest night on record was observed, with an overnight minimum of 18.6 °C (65.5 °F). On 28 July 2010, Oymyakon recorded a record high temperature of 34.6 °C (94.3 °F), yielding a temperature range of 105.8 °C (190.4 °F). Verkhoyansk , Yakutsk , Delyankir , Tegyulte , and Fort Vermilion , Canada are
899-604: Was measured at an automatic weather station and was uncovered after nearly 30 years. In this area, temperature inversions consistently form in winter due to the extremely cold and dense air of the Siberian High pooling in deep hollows, so that temperatures increase rather than decrease with higher altitude. In Verkhoyansk it sometimes happens that the average minimum temperatures for January, February, and December are below −50 °C (−58 °F). In its short summer, daytime temperatures over +30 °C (86 °F) are not uncommon. The average annual temperature for Verkhoyansk
930-445: Was −54.1 °C (−65.4 °F). Sometimes summer months can also be quite chilly, but in June, July and August the temperature has never dropped below −14 °C (7 °F), while in June and July, the temperature has never dropped below −10 °C (14 °F). Oymyakon and Verkhoyansk are the only two permanently inhabited places in the world that have recorded temperatures below −60 °C (−76 °F) for every day in January. By
961-440: Was −67.8 °C (−90.0 °F), recorded on January 15, 1885, and both February 5 and 7, 1892. On 6 February 1933 however, the temperature at Oymyakon reached −67.7 °C (−89.9 °F), just barely above Verkhoyansk's record. Only Greenland and Antarctica have recorded lower temperatures than Oymyakon or Verkhoyansk: the lowest directly recorded temperature at ground level is −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F), recorded at