While a terrible cold snap gripped North America a few days ago, Siberia is also subject to incredibly low temperatures, sometimes exceeding -50C. However, the region’s 78-year-old cold record has not been broken.
North America was impacted by a polar vortex last week, with temperatures reaching -35°C. However, Siberia (Russia) was also caught in extreme temperatures, almost twice as low!
According to the Russian news agency Rossia Segodnya, « Yesterday [mardi 20 décembre, ndlr], it was -58°C. We could hardly see anything. Today [mercredi 21 décembre, ndlr]it was -62°C”citing the words of Elena Choumakova, director of the department of public and external relations of the region.
The interested party took the situation with humor by referring to the « rise » which will take place on Friday, December 23: “They barely promise us -30°C for Friday: it’s almost Crimea! »
The temperature of -62°C, the lowest recorded during this cold snap, was measured in Bolshoi Olkhovski, located 300km from the largest Siberian city, Surgut, the regional capital. Everywhere else, temperatures were around -50°C.
Roads were blocked and many residents preferred to cycle in the face of the impossibility of starting their cars. Many flights have also been canceled and schools closed. The authorities have nevertheless advised the population not to venture into the streets, except in an emergency, in order to avoid frostbite and cases of hypothermia.
The record for the lowest temperature recorded in Siberia, however, has not been broken. In 1933, the mercury had reached -67.8°C in the village of Oïmiakon, in Yakutia.
Here is a video posted by an employee of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, showing how water instantly turns to ice when throwing a cup of water in the air:
Sources: Le Courrier de Russie – Sputnik – The Earth of the Future