Home
Weather London
WeatherRadar
RainfallRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
Career
    Home / Editor's Pick /

    Top six records: The coldest places on Earth

14:00
21 January 2023

Top six records
The coldest places on Earth

Oymyakon winter forest in Russia
© picture alliance

Do you know where the coldest place on Earth is? Take a look at our top six lowest temperature records to find out!

6. Prospect Creek, Alaska (USA)

Here's where you'll find the United States' all-time lowest temperature record, with a -62.2 in the January of 1971. Prospect Creek is now largely abandoned, but at the time was hosting oil workers who were building a pipeline.

5. Snag, Yukon (Canada)

This was the coldest ever temperature recorded in North America, right here in Canada with a mind-numbing -62.8C from February 1947.

4. Yakutsk, Russia

This city might sound familiar to you, neighbouring where a recent record was broken for one of the coldest January days in Russia (read here).

But the Siberian city of Yakutsk, is renowned as one of the coldest in the world for good reason. Temperatures bottomed out at -64. 4C in February 1981, but temperatures barely get above -30C throughout winter.

3. Northern Greenland

During a British North Greenland Expedition in the 1950s, temperatures at their base, a home-ruled Danish territory technically part of North America, fell to -66.1C.

2. Verkhoyansk and Oymyakon, Russia

In second place is a record low of -67.7, recorded twice in 1892 and again in 1933, making this the lowest ever temperature recorded in Russia. It's also the lowest temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere and the coldest inhabited towns on Earth.

1. Vostok Station, Antarctica

Taking the official lead, a staggering -89.2C was recorded on July 21st 1983 by Soviet researchers. The temperature that day only rose as high as -66.7C, but it probably felt comparatively balmy by that point.

East Antarctica?

We mentioned that the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth was disputed at -94.7C, and that was in East Antarctica during August of 2010.

However it can't hold the official number one spot, because it was recorded via satellite data and not a regular thermometer. So the title still stands with Vostok Station, but either way, neither temperature sounds too appealing.

Weather & Radar editorial team
More on the topic
Hottest summer on record for Ireland. Beating 2025's record. . . Thursday, 3 September 2026
Temperature map of Ireland showing 29°C in Dublin, 26°C in Cork, 24°C in Belfast, and 23°C in Galway, with a red thermometer icon.
Thursday, 3 September 2026

Beating 2025's record

Hottest summer on record for Ireland
Autumn arrives with vivid colour. Your weather - Your shots. . . Sunday, 6 September 2026
Split image showing peach-lit textured clouds above silhouetted trees and golden cumulus clouds reflected in a calm canal lined with boats.
Sunday, 6 September 2026

Your weather - Your shots

Autumn arrives with vivid colour
Severe weather hits Mallorca and Italy. Severe thunderstorms. . . Thursday, 10 September 2026
Numerous thunderstorms are sweeping across La Palma. The many lightning symbols on the radar and lightning map show that there is heavy lightning activity across large parts of the island. The thunderstorms are striking particularly in the island’s interior and in the south. On the right, you can see the aftermath: a large fallen tree has buried a car beneath it. Emergency services are clearing up the damage. So, along with the thunderstorms, not only heavy rain but also gusts of wind can become a problem.
Thursday, 10 September 2026

Severe thunderstorms

Severe weather hits Mallorca and Italy
All weather news
This might also interest you
Historic Storm Éowyn arrives. On this day.... . . Saturday, 24 January 2026
Split image showing a person in a yellow jacket struggling against strong winds and heavy rain on a street at night on the left, and an Irish wind forecast map on the right with red and purple shading, gusts up to 75 mph, and a wind warning icon, divided by a curved white line.
Saturday, 24 January 2026

On this day...

Historic Storm Éowyn arrives
Long-term trends need a pinch of salt. 40 °C in July?. . . Tuesday, 30 June 2026
Temperature radar of 2022 heatwave where the all-time temperature record in the UK was set. Warning symbol overlain.
Tuesday, 30 June 2026

40 °C in July?

Long-term trends need a pinch of salt
Storm Chandra makes impact. Severe gales & heavy rain. . . Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Split image showing strong winds over the UK on a forecast map and widespread rain and snow on a weather radar map.
Tuesday, 27 January 2026

Severe gales & heavy rain

Storm Chandra makes impact
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy Policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

facebooktwittertikToklinkList