Therese Sta. MariaDo you live by the Frozen lyric that goes, “The cold never bothered me anyway”? If so, then let’s put your grit and endurance to the test. The Republic of Sakha, aka Yakutia, found in the Siberian province of Russia is known to be the world’s coldest inhabited destination; with a winter temperature averaging below -35°C, this destination will immediately give you horrible frostbite from the moment you leave your hotel. But that’s merely the surface of what it’s like to stay in Yakutsk, the capital of Yakutia.
Visiting the coldest city in the world means you’ll encounter a lifestyle entirely different and perhaps even peculiar from your point of view.
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Yakutsk, Yakutia the coldest city in the world
Image credit: Hans-Jurgen Mager
YouTuber Kiun B, a native of Yakutsk, perfectly illustrates the realities of what the city locals have to live with amidst the low temperatures. In a video that has already gained 3.6 million views in only two weeks, Kiun describes her city as a place where people can go outside only for a few minutes if they’re ill-prepared for the winter.
She is a firsthand witness to all the winter consequences you could possibly imagine: extremely low temperatures that freeze car batteries and even kill people, as well as chilly dense fog that obscures the light of the sun for months. In her video, a local even shares that a freezing temperature of -47°C is considered warm as the temperature can plunge to -70°C.
How Yakutsk locals live with the extreme temperatures
Image credit: Jaromir Kavan
But Kiun also notes that there’s a silver lining to all of these as Yakutsk locals have become experts in adapting to the cold environment. For instance, the locals know that aside from wearing down coats, fur hats are more effective than knitted hats when protecting their heads from the cold; the same goes for fur boots, which are the best candidates for protecting one’s feet from frostbite. It goes without saying that Yakutsk houses are built to withstand the icy environment locals experience almost the entire year too.
And who says that the people of Yakutia can’t use the weather to their advantage? Yakutsk City’s open-air markets are the coldest ones in the world; but because of that, the fish and meat that vendors sell remain naturally frozen on display. Yup, they don’t need to bring any type of technology to keep the cold goods preserved.
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In fact, as the coldest city in the world, Yakutsk saves a lot of its locals money from the electricity needed to operate a refrigerator. According to Kiun, “Some people don’t even have a fridge, they just keep their food outside.” She goes on to say how locals end up using the extremely cold temperatures for experiments, the most interesting of which is allowing their fruits to freeze and using frozen fruits as their hammers. Who would have thought that was even possible?
There are a lot of interesting things to discover about the coldest city in the world, and Kiun explains them best. Watch Kiun’s complete video below!
So winter lovers, what say you? Would you place Yakutsk, the coldest city in the world, on your bucket list? We wouldn’t hold it against you if you pass on this. But if you’re brave enough to visit, share your story with us and contact us through our Facebook page!
Featured image credit: Hans-Jurgen Mager | Unsplash
