Oymyakon

Oymyakon (in English)
Оймякон (Russian)
Өймөкөөн (Sakha)
-  Rural locality  -
Selo

Oymyakon in February 2013

Location of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic in Russia
Oymyakon
Location of Oymyakon in the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic
Coordinates: 63°27′39″N 142°47′09″E / 63.46083°N 142.78583°E / 63.46083; 142.78583Coordinates: 63°27′39″N 142°47′09″E / 63.46083°N 142.78583°E / 63.46083; 142.78583
Administrative status
Country Russia
Federal subject Sakha Republic
Administrative district Oymyakonsky District
Municipal status
Municipal district Oymyakonsky Municipal District
Statistics
Population (July 17, 2011 est.) 500 inhabitants[1]
Time zone VLAT (UTC+10:00)[2]
Postal code(s)[3] 678752
Dialing code(s) +7 41154
Oymyakon on Wikimedia Commons

Oymyakon (Russian: Оймяко́н, pronounced [ɐjmʲɪˈkon]; Yakut: Өймөкөөн, Öymököön, IPA: [øjmøˈkøːn]) is a rural locality (a selo) in Oymyakonsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located along the Indigirka River, 30 kilometers (19 mi) northwest of Tomtor on the Kolyma Highway. Oymyakon is one of the coldest permanently inhabited locales on Earth.

Etymology

It is named after the Oymyakon River, whose name reportedly comes from the Even word kheium, meaning "unfrozen patch of water; place where fish spend the winter."[4] However, another source states that the Even word heyum (hэjум) (kheium may be a misspelling) means "frozen lake".[5]

Geography

Oymyakon, population of 500 people, is in eastern Yakutia at approximately 750 meters above sea level. At the village's northerly position, day length varies from three hours in December to twenty-one hours in June.[6]

History

During World War II, an airfield was built here for the Alaska-Siberian (ALSIB) air route used to ferry American Lend-Lease aircraft to the Eastern Front.[7]

Climate

With an extreme subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dwd), Oymyakon is known as one of the candidates for the Northern Pole of Cold, the other being the town of Verkhoyansk, located 629 km (391 miles) away by air. The ground there is permanently frozen (continuous permafrost).

On February 6, 1933, a temperature of −67.7 °C (−89.9 °F) was recorded at Oymyakon's weather station.[8][9] This was the coldest officially recorded temperature in the Northern Hemisphere. Only Antarctica has recorded lower official temperatures (the lowest being −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F), recorded at Vostok Station on 21 July 1983.)[10][11]

The weather station is in a valley between Oymyakon and Tomtor. The station is at 750 meters (2,460 ft) and the surrounding mountains at 1,100 meters (3,600 ft), causing cold air to pool in the valley: in fact, recent studies show that winter temperatures in the area increase with altitude by as much as 10 °C (18 °F).[12]

Sometimes the temperature drops below 0 °C (32 °F) in late September and may remain below freezing until mid-May. In Oymyakon sometimes the average minimum temperature for January, February and December remains below −50 °C (−58 °F). Sometimes summer months can also be quite cold, but June and July are the only months where temperature has never dropped below −10 °C (14 °F). Oymyakon and Verkhoyansk are the only two permanently inhabited places in the world that have recorded temperatures below −60.0 °C (−76 °F) for every day in January.[13][14]

Oymyakon has never recorded an above freezing temperature between October 25 and March 17.[15]

Although winters in Oymyakon are long and excessively cold, summers are mild to warm, sometimes hot. The warmest month on record is July 2010 with an average temperature of +18.7 °C (65.7 °F). In June, July and August temperatures over 30 °C (86 °F) are not rare during the day. On July 28, 2010, Oymyakon recorded a record high temperature of 34.6 °C (94 °F),[16] yielding a temperature range of 102.3 °C (184.1 °F). Verkhoyansk and Yakutsk are the only other places in the world with a temperature amplitude higher than 100 °C (180 °F).

The climate is quite dry, but as average monthly temperatures are below freezing for seven months of the year, substantial evaporation occurs only in summer months. Summers are much wetter than winters.

Climate data for Oymyakon (1981-2010), extremes 1891-present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) −16.6
(2.1)		 −15.3
(4.5)		 2.0
(35.6)		 11.7
(53.1)		 26.2
(79.2)		 31.1
(88)		 34.6
(94.3)		 33.1
(91.6)		 23.7
(74.7)		 11.0
(51.8)		 −2.1
(28.2)		 −6.5
(20.3)		 34.6
(94.3)
Average high °C (°F) −42.5
(−44.5)		 −35.4
(−31.7)		 −20.8
(−5.4)		 −3.7
(25.3)		 9.1
(48.4)		 20.0
(68)		 22.7
(72.9)		 18.2
(64.8)		 8.9
(48)		 −9.2
(15.4)		 −30.7
(−23.3)		 −42
(−44)		 −8.8
(16.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) −46.4
(−51.5)		 −42
(−44)		 −31.2
(−24.2)		 −13.6
(7.5)		 2.7
(36.9)		 12.6
(54.7)		 14.9
(58.8)		 10.3
(50.5)		 2.3
(36.1)		 −14.8
(5.4)		 −35.2
(−31.4)		 −45.5
(−49.9)		 −15.5
(4.1)
Average low °C (°F) −50
(−58)		 −47.3
(−53.1)		 −40
(−40)		 −23.9
(−11)		 −4.7
(23.5)		 4.0
(39.2)		 6.2
(43.2)		 2.6
(36.7)		 −3.7
(25.3)		 −20.4
(−4.7)		 −39.3
(−38.7)		 −48.8
(−55.8)		 −22.1
(−7.8)
Record low °C (°F) −65.4
(−85.7)		 −67.7
(−89.9)		 −60.6
(−77.1)		 −46.4
(−51.5)		 −28.9
(−20)		 −9.7
(14.5)		 −9.3
(15.3)		 −17.1
(1.2)		 −25.3
(−13.5)		 −47.6
(−53.7)		 −58.5
(−73.3)		 −62.8
(−81)		 −67.7
(−89.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 6
(0.24)		 7
(0.28)		 5
(0.2)		 6
(0.24)		 13
(0.51)		 34
(1.34)		 45
(1.77)		 39
(1.54)		 23
(0.91)		 14
(0.55)		 12
(0.47)		 8
(0.31)		 215
(8.46)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 3.0 2.6 1.4 1.8 3.2 6.6 8.7 7.7 5.1 4.9 4.0 3.0 52.0
Average rainy days 0 0 0.03 0.4 10 17 17 18 13 1 0 0 76
Average snowy days 23 23 16 10 9 1 0.2 0.3 9 21 23 20 156
Average relative humidity (%) 75 74 72 68 60 59 65 70 73 79 77 74 71
Mean monthly sunshine hours 28 118 244 284 282 304 298 236 151 113 58 13 2,129
Source #1: Погода и Климат,[17]January record low[18]February record low[19][20]
Source #2: NOAA (precipitation days and sunshine hours)[21]

In the media

Oymyakon has been featured in a number of television series:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Coldest Inhabited Place on Earth: Oymyakon, Russia". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  2. ↑ Правительство Российской Федерации. Федеральный закон №107-ФЗ от 3 июня 2011 г. «Об исчислении времени», в ред. Федерального закона №271-ФЗ от 03 июля 2016 г. «О внесении изменений в Федеральный закон "Об исчислении времени"». Вступил в силу по истечении шестидесяти дней после дня официального опубликования (6 августа 2011 г.). Опубликован: "Российская газета", №120, 6 июня 2011 г. (Government of the Russian Federation. Federal Law #107-FZ of June 31, 2011 On Calculating Time, as amended by the Federal Law #271-FZ of July 03, 2016 On Amending Federal Law "On Calculating Time". Effective as of after sixty days following the day of the official publication.).
  3. ↑ Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (in Russian)
  4. ↑ Е. М. Поспелов. "Географические названия мира". Москва, 1998, p. 307.
  5. ↑ Tsintsius, V. I. (1977), Сравнительный словарь тунгусо-маньчжурских языков : материалы к этимологическому словарю, 2, Leningrad: Nauka, p. 361
  6. ↑ Garrett, Jenna (January 12, 2015). "What It's Like Living in the Coldest Town on Earth". Wired.
  7. ↑ Lebedev, Igor Aviation Lend-Lease to Russia Nova Publishers (1997) pp.44-49
  8. ↑ N.A. Stepanova. "On the Lowest Temperatures on Earth" (PDF). Docs.lib.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  9. ↑ Weather Underground - Christopher C. Burt - The Coldest Places on Earth https://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/the-coldest-places-on-earth
  10. ↑ "World:Lowest Temperature". World Meteorological Organization. Archived from the original on June 16, 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  11. ↑ "Global Weather & Climate Extremes". World Meteorological Organization. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  12. ↑ "International Glaciological Society (IGS)" (PDF). Igsoc.org. 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  13. ↑ "Погода и Климат - Климатический монитор: погода в Оймяконе". Pogodaiklimat.ru. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  14. ↑ "Погода и Климат - Климатический монитор: погода в Верхоянске". Pogodaiklimat.ru. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  15. ↑ "Погода и Климат - Климатический монитор: погода в Оймяконе". Pogodaiklimat.ru. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  16. ↑ "Погода и Климат - Климатический монитор: погода в Оймяконе". Pogoda.ru.net. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  17. ↑ "Погода и Климат - Климат Оймякона". Pogodaiklimat.ru. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  18. ↑ "From Russia with love: Coldest place on the earth in Siberia". fromrussiawithlove.blogspot. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  19. ↑ "Asia: Lowest Temperature". WMO. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  20. ↑ "Погода в Оймяконе. Температура воздуха и осадки. Февраль 2014 г.". Pogodaiklimat.ru. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  21. ↑ "Ojmjakon Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  22. ↑ Bijal P. Trivedi, Life Is a Chilling Challenge in Subzero Siberia, National Geographic Channel, May 12, 2004.
  23. ↑ "Geoff Mackley - Siberia -Oymyakon expedition Jan 2004". Rambocam.com. 2004-01-29. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  24. ↑ "Events 2005-2010 | Sakha Yakutia – Heart of Siberia". Yakutiatravel.com. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  25. ↑ "Extreme world - How great are the world's divides?". BBC News. November 25, 2010.
  26. ↑ "Chilling Out". Sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au. 2012-03-29. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  27. ↑ "Episode Guide". Departureentertainment.coms. Retrieved 21 July 2014.

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