The coldest village on Earth

If you thought it was cold where you are at the moment then a visit to the Russian village of Oymyakon might just change your mind.

With the average temperature for January standing at -50C, it is no wonder the village is the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world.

Known as the 'Pole of Cold', the coldest ever temperature recorded in Oymyakon was -71.2C.

This is the lowest recorded temperature for any permanently inhabited location on Earth and the lowest temperature recorded in the Northern Hemisphere

The village, which is home to around 500 people, was, in the 1920s and 1930s, a stopover for reindeer herders who would water their flocks from the thermal spring.

But the Soviet government, in its efforts to settle nomadic populations, believing them to be difficult to control and technologically and culturally backward, made the site a permanent settlement.

Ironically, Oymyakon actually means 'non-freezing water' due to a nearby hot spring.

Most homes in Oymyakon still burn coal and wood for heat and enjoy few modern conveniences.

Nothing grows there so people eat reindeer meat and horsemeat. A single shop provides the town's bare necessities and the locals work as reindeer-breeders, hunters and ice-fisherman.

Doctors say the reason the locals don't suffer from malnutrition is that their animals' milk contains a lot of micronutrients.

Unsurprisingly, locals are hardened to the weather and unlike in other countries - where a flurry of snow brings things grinding to a halt, Oymyakon's solitary school only shuts if temperatures fall below -52C.

The village is located around 750 metres above sea level, which means that the length of a day varies from 3 hours in December to 21 hours in the summer.

And despite its terrible winters, in June, July and August temperatures over 30c are not uncommon.