Around this time of year I always wonder why I don't live somewhere warmer
but to be fair it could always be worse
there are many towns and cities in extremely cold places
from remote polar regions to places you might not expect to be so cold
but one town stands out among others
it was built in a place barely inhabitable for any animal - let alone humans
this is the story of that ridiculous town, and of the ridiculous people who call it home
In a hard to reach corner of Siberia is the small town of Oymyakon
it's name is said to mean frozen lake
and there's a good reason for that
Oymyakon is the permanently inhabited town on earth
with an average temperature of -40 degrees
it's difficult to overstate the extreme conditions
boiling water instantly turns to ice, cars fail to start
and the ground is so hard it can take days to dig a grave
the town has one monument, dedicated to when the lowest ever temperature was recorded here
it was in 1924, at -71 degrees Celsius
but the area should not be so cold
Oymyakon is far from both the north and south poles
but being in the icy region of Siberia, it lies at the bottom of two deep valleys
with cold air constantly descending on the town,
it is the coldest place in a very cold region
so you're probably wondering why anyone would chose to build a town here
but you need to remember these people are Russian
they don't feel pain, or the cold... or anything
little is known of Oymyakon's history
but according to legend it was settled by reindeer herders
who found their animals enjoy the valleys climate
whatever the truth, locals have gradually adapted to their environment
being able to tolerate miserable conditions
in fact, if the temperature is above -40 they consider it a warm day
but they are still human
and life in Oymyakon is still perilous
this year temperatures have gotten so low
local schools have been shut down
as there were fears children would freeze to death on the way
when outside cars need to be kept running the whole time
stop even for a second and it might not start again
there is no running water in the town for the same reason
so residents bring blocks of ice inside like they would firewood
almost every liquid here freezes immediately
and within minutes of being outside, small icicles form on your face
even germs are killed by the extreme cold
unlike other parts of Siberia, Oymyakon gets just 3 months of summer each year
isolated in it's deep valley depths
at it's peak 2 and a half thousand people called the town home
but not that number is around 500
to me Oymyakon seems like a magical place full of mythical creatures
dotted throughout the area are zombie fires
mysterious flames that burn without any clear
the leading theory is that they result from flammable gasses trapped under the ice
but local folklore blames them on the supernatural
folklore also tells of a yeti like monster said to live nearby
known as the Almas yeti, it is bipedal like a man
but covered in thick hair and has long sharp claws
it is more than strong enough to pull a person limb from limb
and hunters are even scared to shoot it
entire towns bigger than Oymyakon have been destroyed by the Almas
maybe that's why the town's population has been falling
perhaps the almas is just killing people on mass