The cold pole of the Northern Hemisphere is located in a zone of sharply continental climate. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the city of Verkhoyansk and the village of Oymyakon, which are part of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), have been arguing for the right to be called this way . Recently, the village of Tomtor joined this dispute, located 20 km from the village of Oymyakon.
Extreme Yakutia: a brief overview
The geographic location of the republic (north and south of the Arctic Circle is 66 ° 33′44 ″) and its remoteness from warm currents (the Gulf Stream) explains the presence of low temperatures, which is why the cold pole of the Northern Hemisphere is located there. The extreme continental point of the republic is located on Cape Nordvik (74 ° N), the southern one is the border with the Amur Region along the Stanovoi Range (55 ° N).
The Republic of Sakha (or the Sakha Republic in Yakutsk) is the largest administrative-territorial entity not only in Russia, but also in the world, and makes up almost a fifth of the Russian Federation (Yakutia - 3.1 million km², Russia - more than 17.1 million km² )
Forty percent of the republic’s territory is located in the Arctic, that is, beyond the Arctic Circle.
Yakutia is 25% of diamonds mined in the world, and it is from them that the richest and, accordingly, fashionable women of the world prefer to wear jewelry.
The main population of the republic is the Yakuts (almost 46%), Russians (almost 42%), Ukrainians (about 4%), Evenks (2%), Evens (just over 1%). The total population is just under one million people.
The climate of the republic where the cold pole of the Northern hemisphere is located
Only extreme weather conditions can explain the fact that the cold pole is in Yakutia. The sharply continental climate of the south of the republic goes into the subarctic, then into the Arctic on the coast of the Arctic Ocean.
The relative softness of winter temperatures (-35 ...- 25 ° C), winds, and humidity of the northern coast sharply contrast with the continental conditions of the territories of Yakutia, located near the Arctic Circle and to the south. Winter temperatures in this part fluctuate mainly in the range of -55 ...- 35 ° C, and the snow cover is small - only thirty centimeters. Such a phenomenon as frosty fog (from small crystals) occurs precisely in the continental part of the Republic of Sakha.
The coldest areas are those located near Verkhoyansk and Oymyakon, where temperatures can drop to -70 ° C. The summer readings of the thermometer (albeit briefly) can rise to +30 ° C. Such annual temperature fluctuations (one hundred degrees) were not observed at any other point on the Earth.
Verkhoyansk - officially recognized pole of the cold of the Northern hemisphere
Verkhoyanskay (in Yakutsk) is one of the northernmost (beyond the Arctic Circle) and the smallest cities in Russia (in third place from the end): only 1,150 people live there. You can get to him this way: first by plane from Moscow to Yakutsk, then by local airlines via the Lena River and the Verkhoyansk Range to the village of Batagay (this is the center of the Verkhoyansk ulus (district)), then along the dirt road to Verkhoyansk. There is no airfield in the city, or rather, it does not work - it was closed during the collapse of the USSR.
Life in the city is complicated: seven months a year (from October to April) is winter, the thermometer drops to minus 67 degrees Celsius.
In the spring, snow begins to melt, and if someone does not stock up on ice from the lakes (there are a lot of them), then there will be nothing to drink - the melted water is muddy, but the fishing is excellent.
Verkhoyansk began its history as a Cossack settlement, then became the place of exile for many political prisoners. One of them, S.F. Kovalik, recorded the minimum air temperature of −67.1 ° C (in January 1885, on the fifteenth of January) (recorded in the observation log of the meteorological station). And in 1892, an even lower temperature was noted: −67.8 ° C. In 2005, a city plaque was erected by the city authorities to mark the registration of the lowest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere.
Verkhoyansk Museum of Local History “Pole of Cold”
Since 1957, the school (she alone in the city) began to collect exhibits on the history of the region. On this base today there is a city museum of local lore. The exposition of the museum - “The Cold Pole of the Northern Hemisphere of Russia” - contains historical materials about the unique aerohydrometeorological station opened in Verkhoyansk.
The museum is also interesting for displaying objects of cultural heritage of the Verkhoyansk Yakuts, and an ancient dwelling - a yurt - is installed next to the main complex.
Oymyakon: why do tourists go there
Oymyakon also claims to the official name - the cold pole of the Northern Hemisphere. The village is located below the Arctic Circle, but winters there are much more severe than Verkhoyansk. The Oymyakon area is located in a mountain basin where cold air descends at night and stagnates there, which explains the position of the cold pole of the Northern Hemisphere, although not officially recognized. Meteorological observations are conducted not in the village of Oymyakon, but at the airport of the same name (40 km from the village and 2 km from the village of Tomtor).
As a cold pole of the Northern Hemisphere, Oymyakon is mastered by tourists much more efficiently than Verkhoyansk: the airport contributes to the rapid achievement of the goal.
In the village of Tomtor (where the writer V. Shalamov was serving the last two years), a tourist rally is held annually, and in Oymyakon, Santas gather for an rally every year.
Schools close in winter if temperatures drop to −56 ° C.
The name Oymyakon in translation means "non-freezing water" - either as a joke, or in honor of a local hot spring.
Scientists still have not decided which settlement should be called the cold pole of the Northern Hemisphere: either Oymyakon, or Tomtor, or Verkhoyansk.