Winters are the best part of the year in Delhi.
They are a welcome change from the hot and humid weather which doesn’t seem to be designed for humans.
But then, that’s my opinion.
There are many people who will beg to differ because they can’t handle even slightest of drop in the temperature.
They crib about the number of clothes they have to wear and precautions they have to take in order to not fall sick.
If you happen to be one of those people, be thankful you are not living in the cities listed below because trust me when I say this, it’s bone-numbing cold there.
1. Oymyakon village in Siberia
This place is so cold that even the thermometer couldn’t take it.
Situated in the Siberian region of Yakutia in Russia, Oymyakon is the coldest inhabited village on Earth. The temperatures here dropped as low as -62°C this year, before breaking the thermometer. Nope, I am not making it up and yes, you definitely don’t want to go there. Unless of course you are mentally prepared to have your eyelashes (among other things) covered with snow.
2. Verkhoyansk town in Sakha Republic
The town served as a place for exiles and that says a lot.
Here’s another Russian region making it to the list. The intensity of the cold here can be gauged from the fact that it was used as a place of exile for political criminals in the early 20th century. The people here breed cattle and do tin mining.
I’d be mining my own grave if I were living in this town, but let us not think about it.
Verkhoyansk’s average temperature for the month of January is -48°C, which justifies the fact that it’s situated just 1500 miles from the North Pole.
3. Fraser in Colorado
Fraser ‘enjoys’ the best winter in the United States. Inhabited by nearly 1000 people, the town was in constant battle with International Falls in Minnesota with regards to being given the title of ‘The Nation’s Icebox’.
The temperature there is -11°C as I write this article.
4. Montreal in Canada
Canada is a beautiful place and also, it’s colder than Mars and Antarctica. In December 2017, Mars was recorded to be -23°C, which was a little warmer than Montreal. No kidding. The Canadian government even issued weather alerts which also included a list of places which were warmer than the country. One of these places is Antarctica and the other one is parts of Mars.
Guess even Justin Trudeau won’t be motivation enough to go to Canada.
5. Hell in Norway
With temperatures as low as -25°C, it might just be the real hell.
This place in Norway is covered in snow for most parts of the year and the temperatures here drop to a brain-freezing -25°C. However, Hell is in fact a heaven for trekking and skiing, if those happen to be your inclinations.
6. Barrow in Alaska
The temperature of this place remains below the freezing level for more than six months a year. Now that’s something!
Situated near the Arctic circle, the temperature at this place is -17°C at the moment. The residents of the place do not see any sunlight for two months every year. There are no roads you can take to go to Barrow as it is only accessible by air or water.
7. North Ice in Greenland
Remember Titanic? It sunk somewhere near this place after hitting that damned iceberg.
Said to be amongst the least populated places in the world, North Ice has witnessed temperatures dropping as low as -66°C at one point. It’s the coldest region in the Western Hemisphere and serves as a British research station.