A Day in the Coldest City on Earth

At −40 °C, frost forms on your eyelashes from your own breath. In Yakutsk, Siberia, that's a normal January night, and more than 350,000 people live here. So what does an ordinary day look like? We spend one winter day in the coldest city on Earth, hour by hour: cars that are never switched off, a fog made of the city's own breath, fish sold frozen like bunches of flowers, and the pipes that keep everyone alive. Chapters 0:00 The coldest city on Earth 1:07 07:00 Waking up in the dark 1:33 07:30 Getting dressed 2:12 08:00 The car that never sleeps 3:00 Ice fog 3:37 Is school on? 4:14 12:00 The frozen market 4:50 14:00 Working outside 5:30 The twist: summer 6:06 18:00 The heat that keeps the city alive 6:52 Why not just leave? 7:41 What cold does to your body 8:41 One day in Yakutsk Sources Climate (January lows, the record low of −64.4 °C in 1891, the record high of +38.4 °C on 17 Jul 2011, July averages): pogodaiklimat.ru, station 24959; NOAA WMO 1991–2020 normals and Global Summary of the Year Wind chill and frostbite times: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Wind Chill Index Population (355,443, 2021 census) and ethnicity: Rosstat / Sakhastat, via the Yakutsk city administration Permafrost thickness: Land 11(9):1513 (MDPI, 2022) Sun times: sunrisesunset.io (Yakutsk, UTC+9) Clothing and prices: Science Norway (15 Apr 2023); Rossiyskaya Gazeta (5 Dec 2023) Cars in deep cold: drom.ru (2014, 2019); Rossiyskaya Gazeta (2023); Snob (2023) Ice fog: Gultepe et al. 2015, Atmospheric Research 151:2–19; Makarova & Vasilyeva (NEFU), 2014 School rules: Yakutsk city education department (yaguo.ru, 2025) Market and stroganina: National Geographic (Feb 2018); VkusVill journal (2025); The Moscow Times (25 Mar 2023); Reuters (Jan 2023) Outdoor work: MR 2.2.7.2129-06 (Rospotrebnadzor, 2006); Rossiyskaya Gazeta (29 Jan 2026) Heating and the 2023 Satal outage: The Insider (2 Jan 2023, citing Sibir.Realii); University of Alberta photo record (2014) Diamonds, gold and pay: Interfax / Kimberley Process (2024); Sakha Republic investor presentation (2020); EastRussia; ConsultantPlus; Sakha Law 475-III Cold physiology: Castellani & Young 2016 (Autonomic Neuroscience); van Marken Lichtenbelt et al. 2009 (NEJM); Daanen 2003 (Eur J Appl Physiol); Snodgrass et al. 2005 (Am J Hum Biol); Cardona et al. 2014 (PLoS ONE) Photos and footage Video (Creative Commons Attribution, via YouTube; original audio not used) "Якутск в -50°С" by Кыч ТВ Алексей (   • Якутск в -50°С  ), CC BY "Якутия. Якутск. -40." by Кыч ТВ Алексей (   • Якутия. Якутск. -40.  ), CC BY "Якутск.-50-53.Вот и долгожданные морозы!" by Кыч ТВ Алексей (   • Якутск.-50-53.Вот и долгожданные морозы!  ), CC BY "Якутск. Республиканская Выставка - Ярмарка "Рыба - 2022", Крестьянский рынок." by Кыч ТВ Алексей (   • Якутск. Республиканская Выставка - Ярмарка...  ), CC BY "ЯКУТСКИЙ МОРОЗ -50"С Градусов. Холодно как на ЛУНЕ, Туман и ничего не видно 2021г." by POST Auto 14 (   • ЯКУТСКИЙ МОРОЗ -50"С Градусов. Холодно как...  ), CC BY "Якутск в Тумане с Самолета. Морозы - 48гр. Красиво 2020г." by POST Auto 14 (   • Якутск в Тумане с Самолета. Морозы - 48гр....  ), CC BY "Пожарники Обледенели в -50"C Мороза. Якутия" by POST Auto 14 (   • Пожарники Обледенели в -50"C  Мороза. Якутия  ), CC BY "Бензовоз отогревают Огнем! в Якутии -55"C Мороза. Трансмиссия замерзла отогревают кострами" by POST Auto 14 (   • Бензовоз отогревают Огнем! в Якутии -55"C ...  ), CC BY "При какой температуре отменяются занятия у школьников Якутска?" by НВК «Саха» (   • При какой температуре отменяются занятия у...  ), CC BY "Жара вынуждает нарушать запреты. По несанкционированным пляжам Якутска проводятся рейды" by НВК «Саха» (   • Жара вынуждает нарушать запреты. По несанк...  ), CC BY "Якутская строганина попала в список 100 самых узнаваемых брендов России" by НВК «Саха» (   • Якутская строганина попала в список 100 са...  ), CC BY "Конкурс по приготовлению строганины завершил фестиваль "Зима начинается с Якутии"" by НВК «Саха» (   • Конкурс по приготовлению строганины заверш...  ), CC BY "Рынок Сайсары, Якутск" by Пока без названия (   • Рынок Сайсары, Якутск  ), CC BY Photos "On the streets of Yakutsk", Maarten Takens, CC BY-SA 2.0 Building on stilts in Yakutsk ("Jakutsk Pfahlbau"), Kanadier, public domain Lena bridge construction site, Legioner2016, CC BY-SA 4.0 Yakutsk in summer, Vasilii Martynov, CC0 Yhyakh opening ceremony, Dziulita05, CC BY-SA 4.0 Stroganina, Cholbon, CC BY-SA 4.0 Yakutskenergo building, Staselnik, CC BY-SA 3.0 (all via Wikimedia Commons) Stock footage: Pexels (labelled "illustrative" on screen, not filmed in Yakutsk): frozen face 11120675, hands 7038129, snow and wind 8360956, frosted window 35309659, exhaust pipe 6160051, power plant steam 14458800, industrial plant in snow 19959337, winter construction site 30026862 Map data: Natural Earth (public domain) Music: "Event Horizon", YouTube Audio Library