How to live in the coldest city in the world; at -50 degrees

Russia It is, without a doubt, one of the most important and relevant countries in the modern history of humanity.

The influence that the Russians have had on popular culture in the world has been deserving of numerous recognitions, to the point that the country itself has been in charge of reaffirming its relevance thanks to its particular affinity with its culture and its achievements.

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Having been the nation that, for the first time, sent a human being into outer space, maintaining a sociocultural and ideological struggle with the very USA of America for much of the 20th century -and still in the 21st century-, ‘succeeding’ in two world wars and being a huge influence on their neighboring countries (by hook or by crook) are some of the things that the Russians have achieved and stand out enormously.

However, little is said about the contemporary daily life of the Russia of today, and for that, it is time to move away from the armed conflict that it has with Ukraine. The day-to-day life of ordinary Russian citizens is something that can go unnoticed, especially in these times, when the focus of the international community is elsewhere.

58 degrees below zero in Yakutsk, Russia???????? pic.twitter.com/Gr7Vs8swxy

— Cleopatra (@GinaJardines) December 30, 2022

Another of the things for which the Russians are famous is their relationship with the cold. Being located near the North Pole, Russia has lived with winter since it was conceived as a nation. For this reason, many of the outfits from that country, known worldwide, were made more out of a need to survive intense cold days than simply for fashion.

However, there are areas in the largest country on the planet where the cold is suffered more than in others, and the clear example has its own name: Yakutsk.

Life at 50 degrees below zero

Yakutsk is a small city of just over 333,000 inhabitants, known worldwide for its intense winter seasons, which can reach minus 50 degrees Celsius. This situation earned it to be considered the coldest city in the worldaccording to the scientific medium ‘Live Science’.

It is common to find houses, streets, squares, churches, businesses and monuments covered in snow throughout the year. Photo: iStock

The temperatures in Yakutsk are so low that the buildings are designed to prevent accidents that can be caused by melting ice: the buildings are raised two meters high by columns so that the melting ice does not damage the buildings.

Similarly, gas piping systems are not underground, as in the vast majority of major cities in the world, but they are out in the open, this with the aim of not freezing and getting damaged.

Residents who use a car must keep it running for much of the day so that the oil and gasoline do not freeze. You can imagine how expensive it would be to tank the almost daily in Yakutsk.

A Twitter user (@Albertofm20) visited the city in mid-2022 and shared some interesting facts about the lifestyle of the city’s inhabitants:

“There are two types of people:so they keep the car in a heated garage or those who leave it outside and at night must start it to warm up the engine and the oil, mechanisms, etc. do not freeze”, he explained.

And it is that, continuing with the theme of cars, pollution merges with the cold, thus creating a very thick fog, which makes vision difficult for both drivers and passers-by.

Why are there people living there?

Despite the climatic conditions, Yakutsk is one of the most important secondary cities in eastern Russia, as it is an important cultural center, thanks in large part to its museums.

It is also a place where thousands of young people from the Sakha Republic and its surroundings are based to study. Yakutsk is home to several major universities in Russia that offer accessible programs for those who want to be professionals in the future.

City of Yakutsk Russian lowest temperature recorded since 2011 pic.twitter.com/5ufFymh7Xd

— Sweet pickles belong on every hamburger… (@WileyDemma) December 24, 2022

Regarding economic issues, the city is reputed to be an important site for mining exploration, as well as for the commercialization and export of diamonds. In fact, the region in which the city is located originates 20 percent of all the diamond traded worldwide.

The weather of Yakutsk It has also been used by scientists from the region and the nation to create and establish a climatological research center, to carry out research on the long-term effects of cold on the inhabitants of the city, as well as fluctuations in temperature, since the thermal variation moves between -40 degrees in winter to 20 degrees in summer.

Yakutsk today

The war between Russia and Ukraine has forced the Kremlin to divert public resources to continue financing the occupation in the neighboring country, which has had negative effects on the economy.

In the case of Yakutskthe inhabitants expressed their discomfort because the government has neglected their city a lot, due to the fact that the basic services are in malfunction, which has affected them in a detrimental way in their daily lives.

-49C in Yakutsk, Russia, at 08:30 am. In some areas of the city, it was down to -53C. pic.twitter.com/qTwzpvBucT

—Nanda Kumar (@NandaKu53991398) December 26, 2022

“Putin finds money for the war in Ukraine, hypersonic missiles and his luxurious palaces, while ordinary people freeze,” a local citizen told the British outlet ‘Mirror’.

The adverse situation has generated several power outages in the citywhich, according to reports and testimonies from city residents, have lasted for more than eight uninterrupted hours.

“Batteries exploded in the apartments of many residents and the sewage pipes froze,” another local told the same outlet.

Despite all the problems with electricity and natural gas in the city, added to the extreme cold, no deaths have been reported since the power outages began to be reported.

Source: Elcomercio