Yakutsk: The coldest city on earth

“Welcome to the freezing hell on earth, where cold burns to death.”

This phrase is not a fancy prologue to a fantasy novel, and it is not taken from a horror movie either. It is, however, a living reality for those who lives in a city not that far away from the North Pole. In this part of the globe, where the temperature of -50°C is not very uncommon in winter, a thick and warm coat of fur is the difference between life and death; it is as vital as food and water. And thus, in such conditions, it is more valuable than gold.

Welcome to the coldest large city in the world. Welcome to Yakutsk.

Yakutsk is the capital of Republic of Sakha, a federal republic in the far east of Russia, which is also called Yakutia or Yakutya. Before developing into a modern city, Yakutsk was founded as a fortified settlement (a small wooden fort, or “Ostrog” in Russian) by the explorer Pyotr Beketov around the year 1632. Yet what makes the city special is the location alongside with its nature; it is located in the Siberian continuous permafrost, 450 km to the south of the Arctic Circle. Therefore, it is no surprise that Yakutsk is considered the coldest large city in the world, with only -9°C as a temperature average.

But hold on a second! -9°C doesn’t seem that bad comparing to lower temperatures recorded in various other cities, especially in Europe and North America.

So what makes Sakha’s capital so exceptional?

Well, read again then: the -9 degrees mentioned above is merely an average, which means the sum of temperatures recorded daily throughout the year, divided by 365. As the statistics shows, summers, although short, are warm in Yakutsk and even hot on occasions, with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees at times. The highest to be ever recorded was 38.4°C in July 2011. Talk about the affects of global warming!

However, in contrast to summers, winters are very long and extremely cold with -35 degrees in average. In fact, to this day, not a single degree above freezing has ever been recorded between the 10th of November and the 14th of March. Worse, temperatures below -50°C are not exactly uncommon in the region. To the writing of those lines, the lowest degree recorded in Yakutsk was -65°C in February, 1891.

In such unusual, severe conditions, staying alive is a challenging task in itself. So how do the inhabitants of Yakutsk manage to survive and live a relatively normal life in a dry, Siberian freezing climate?

First of all, it must be made clear that, as mentioned above, Yakutsk is a large city. And despite being the coldest big urban area, its population has significantly grown throughout the years, as it now counts more than 311.000 citizens.

Naturally for this population, living in the Russian permafrost comes with its own difficulties. Cell phones, for instance, pose a real problem in Yakutsk; they run on lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, and those do not function correctly, if not at all, below the freezing point. In brief, and without getting into details, in order for a Li-ion battery to work, it relies on internal chemical reactions, and those might be slowed and eventually blocked in low temperatures. In -40 degrees, not only the charging time will be annoyingly extended, but also expect the phone to “die” anytime, even when fully charged.

However, phones are the least of concerns for the people in Yakutsk. When living on permafrost, food is obviously the top priority. The Siberian climate does not allow a wide variety of food options: there are not many of fresh fruits or vegetables to harvest due to the nature of the ground, and in general, the locals’ nutrition depends greatly on meat, such as horses, reindeers and moose.

Fish, above all, is the most common food in the Russian city. That is why the sight of vendors selling fish - and meat as well - in the open air is not peculiar. Yes, you read it right. In Yakutsk, meat is sold outdoors as on market stalls if it were vegetables or books. Why not, though? After all, the -40°C weather is as good as any freezer at preserving foods.

On the other side of the survival equation, water is as much of a concern as food; it is available enough in summer, mainly from the nearby rivers. But in winter, several degrees below the freezing point, those rivers are of no use and water become as scarce as it can be. For that matter, the locals came up with a simple, yet effective solution: the iced river can be sawn with a chainsaw into big cubes, and then those cubes are to be melted indoors. The resulting water is clean, naturally filtered and safe for drinking and washing.

Here is a video explaining the sawing process:

But other than that, how do the residents cope with a climate impacting each and every domain of their daily life?

Well, Yakutsk is, literally, located on the edge of life. And the only road to survive is through a continuous, tiresome battle against the cruel weather. Thus, the habits and lifestyle of its residents are certainly different, to an extent, than most regions. For example, nobody hangs outside for long without a strong reason, and it is an act of suicide to leave the house not wearing gloves. If not, then be prepared for a rushing visit to hospital due to frostbite. And with a bit of luck, you might make it before your fingers fall off!

Speaking of clothing, have you ever took out a bank loan solely to buy clothes? No? Then consider yourself lucky, because that is the case for most of the inhabitants of Yakutsk. To pull through the six-month long winter of Siberia, one must wear appropriate clothing. Fur is the most suitable for the task. However, it is expensive and not within the reach of most people. A long coat of fur can cost in excess of several months’ earnings. That is when banks intervene, offering loans specifically for the purchase of furs.

This strikes me as ironic. Why, you might ask? Well, keep in mind that we are talking about one of the richest regions in terms of natural resources, not only in Russia but in the whole world as well. And to borrow money for clothing, while surrounded by gold, diamond and even uranium mines, is not really expected.

Transportation is another dilemma to solve in Yakutsk: owning a car is as troublesome as having none. In temperatures of -40 degrees and below, and with the lack of heated underground car parks due to permafrost, it might take days for the engine to start, in a literal sense. Once again, people have no choice but to adapt to the situation. Some of them mothball their cars during winter, temporarily switching to public transportation. Others use what is called a “portable garage”, which is similar to a thick quilt that stretches over the car to prevent freezing, an adequate solution despite the relatively high cost. Yet not everyone is fine with abandoning their cars or buying an expensive portable garage. Hence some drivers, and I kid you not, keep the engine running nonstop from autumn until spring!

Taking into account what has already been said, it would be a safe guess to assume that the region’s schools shut their doors in winter. If that is what you think, then you are very mistaken. Classes are held normally except when the temperature falls to nearly -60°C! The thought of leaving the warm, cosy bed for school 50 degrees below freezing sends shivers down the spine.

In the end, let us conclude with an odd fact: dying is by no means a synonym of resting in this neck of woods, at least for the living that is. It is an arduous task to bury a dead body in Yakutsk. The land is frozen, making it impossible to dig a grave. Therefore, bonfires must be lit to slowly thaw the ground, a process which may take up to several days.