Oymyakon: The world's coldest inhabited place

Known as the 'Pole of cloud', Oymyakon is a small Russian hamlet with a population of around 450 and with an average temperature of -50 degree Celsius making it the coldest inhabited settlement in the world. Temperatures here can drop to  lows of -71 degree Celsius. During the World War II, an airfield was built in this village for the Alaska-Siberian air route to ferry American Lend-Lease aircraft. Since temperatures are so low nothing grows here, thus most of the villagers live on reindeer meat and horse meat with a single grocery store supplying the bare necessities. Despite the harsh climate, people live in the valley, and the area is equipped with schools, a post office, a bank, and even an airport runway.

A man walks through a courtyard in Yakutsk, in the Republic of Sakha, northeast Russia.. The coldest temperatures in the northern hemisphere have been recorded in Sakha, the location of the Oymyakon valley, where according to the United Kingdom Met Office a temperature of -67.8 degrees Celsius (-90 degrees Fahrenheit) was registered in 1933 - the coldest on record in the northern hemisphere since the beginning of the 20th century.

The roof of a house is covered with snow in the village of Tomtor in the Oymyakon valley in the Republic of Sakha, northeast Russia.

A girl poses for a picture in the village of Oymyakon, in the Republic of Sakha, northeast Russia.