Are you planning to brave the extreme cold and go for Chadar Trek in Kargil? Do you think that Delhi is shivering in cold? And do you think that Srinagar looks mesmerising in snow?
Well, then you are in for a shock. The Russian winters are legendary and have a nasty reputation among the armies of the world. The two leaders named Napoleon and Hitler learnt it the hard way when the severe chill preyed on their troops like a vile jackal.
Oymyakon is a Russian village renowned for being the coldest permanently inhabited place on earth. The average temperature for its 500 residents hover around -50 degree Celsius in January and the lowest ever recorded was -71 degrees.
The airport at Oymyakon weather
The town at dawn weather
A girl walks across the bridge weather
An ice covered house in the City Centre weather
A local girl coming back from the university weather
Known as the ‘Pole of the Earth’ this frosty village is soon becoming a tourist attraction.
Most households burn coal and wood for heat. The harsh weather conditions do not let the plants grow and hence the locals survive on reindeer and horse meat.
A woman sells Arctic hare and other frozen meat weather
Coal station in the town weather
The only petrol pump in the town weather
During the 1920s and 1930s, this tiny village served as a stopover for reindeer herders to water their flock at the thermal springs.
Highly insulated door at the stables weather
Cars are an integral part of the village transportation. The rigid temperatures freeze the pipes in the households and in the car. Residents melt the ice on frozen car pipes using gas torches and ideally keep it running for the night.
Man stops at the only shop in the town weather
In a land where everything from pen to saliva freezes, the toilets are made outdoors.
The outdoor toilet weather
A local school teacher prepares himself for a quick dash to the toilet weather
The power station keeps the town running and if they stop, the town would come to a standstill in five hours.
A guard dog gets frosty snub in the harsh climate weather
A lady enters the Church with a gush of cold mist weather
Isn’t it beautiful? This place tests the man’s survival skills and needless to say, we see the human emerging victorious.
