The occupier of Yakutsk , Siberia are experts at surviving harsh winters . They own buddy-buddy furs , live in household build for icy environs , and have it off not to put on glasses outdoors unless they want them to freeze to their face . This is life history in the cold city on Earth , where temperatures engross -40 ° fluorine territorial dominion throughout wintertime , according toNational Geographic .
Yakutsk has all the features of any other mid - sized metropolis . The 270,000 people who inhabit there have access to movie theatre , eating house , and a public transportation system that functions year - round . But front nigher and you ’ll notice some telling details . Many house are built on stilts , and if they ’re not , the passion from the building thawing the permafrost beneath it , causing the structure to sink . People continue move outside during the cold months , but only for a few minute at a time to avoid frostbite .
Then there ’s the atmospheric condition . The extreme low temperature are cold enough to freezecar batteriesand the Pisces sold inopen - air markets . Meanwhile , a slurred fog is a constant presence in the city , giving it an otherworldly aura .
Why do people choose to survive in such a harsh environment ? Beneath Yakutsk lies a real treasure mine : Mines in the region develop a fifth of the world ’s diamonds . Valuable raw gas can also be recovered there .
While Yakutsk may be the coldest city on Earth , it ’s not the coldest inhabited position there is . That distinction belong to to the rural village ofOymyakon , 575 miles to the eastward , where temperatures of late dropped to an eyelash - freezing -88 ° F .
[ h / tNational Geographic ]
