Verkhoyansk, Russia, is a city in far northeastern Russia that gets colder than the North Pole, but also reaches extreme highs of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in summer. The city set the record for highest temperature within the Arctic Circle in 2020. Its range of 194 degrees of difference in a single year in 1998 also set a record.

The coldest country in Africa is Lesotho, located entirely within South Africa. The continent’s coldest city, however, is Ifran, Morocco, in northern Africa. In 1935, Ifran reached a record low of -11 degrees Fahrenheit. Located high in the Middle Atlas Mountains, Ifran is a popular destination for skiers.

With an average January temperature of -41 degrees Fahrenheit, Yakutsk, Russia, is considered the coldest major city on Earth. The capital of Russia’s Sakha Republic is the site of Permafrost Kingdom, a museum that features two neon ice tunnels burrowed into a permanently frozen hill. The museum contains an icy interpretation of Picasso’s famous 1937 work, “Guernica.”

Eismitte, the interior region of Greenland, is the second-coldest place on Earth with a record low temperature of -84.6 degrees Fahrenheit on March 20, 1931. The average low is around -33 degrees, and the average overall temperature here is a frigid -22 degrees.

The city of Yellowknife, located in Canada’s Northwest Territories, is also known as the “Diamond Capital of North America.” The three diamond mines in the Yellowknife area have produced enough value to place Canada third in worldwide rankings of diamond production. In 2010, a 78-carat diamond was unearthed in Yellowknife.

Washington D.C. doesn’t rank among America’s coldest cities, but it has had several historic snowstorms with colorful nicknames: Winter Storm Jonas (aka Snowzilla) in 2016, Snowmageddon in 2010, and the Knickerbocker Storm of 1922. With 28 inches of snow falling over the city, the storm got its nickname because it caved in the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre.

According to the International Ice Hockey Federation, the first-ever organized ice hockey game took place in Montreal, Quebec, in 1875. The earliest rules of hockey were also published in the Montreal Gazette in 1877. There is also evidence of ice hockey being played before 1877 in England, but Canadian rules have largely shaped the sport as it is played today.

Starting in the west in Moscow, the Trans-Siberian Railway traverses 5,772 miles of Russian landscapes before coming to an end in the city of Vladivostok, close to the Chinese border. The city has an average January temperature of just 15 degrees Fahrenheit. The city is also home to Russia’s Pacific naval fleet, and features several maritime museums.

Russia’s Vostok research station, located on the Antarctic Ice Sheet, is the site of the coldest recorded temperature on Earth — a measurement of -128.6 degrees Fahrenheit on July 21, 1983. Although temperatures rarely fall to such extreme lows, the average temperature in the inland area of the ice sheet often reaches lows of around -76 degrees.

Mongolia’s capital city of Ulaanbaatar is a city of extremes, with summer highs reaching 102 degrees Fahrenheit, and winter lows reaching -44 degrees. The consistent winter lows are enough to bring the average annual mean temperature below freezing, which is unique among world national capitals.

There are several different ways to measure the coldest host city for the Winter Olympics. By average February temperature, the record was set by Lake Placid, New York, in 1980, at 8.6 degrees Fahrenheit. In terms of lowest single temperature for an Olympic city, Calgary, Canada set the record with -49 degrees.

Irkutsk, in the Russian region of Siberia, has average January temperatures of around -2 degrees Fahrenheit. It also borders the world’s deepest lake, Lake Baikal, which reaches a maximum depth of 5,387 feet. From January through March of each year, Lake Baikal is completely frozen over, forming the world’s largest natural skating rink.

The northernmost municipality in the United States is Barrow, Alaska, located 320 miles above the Arctic Circle. For about 65 days each year, the sun fails to climb above the horizon in Barrow. The city is home to the Inūpiat Indigenous peoples, and climate change is a major challenge to its population. The icy coastline is receding at rates of 30 to 65 feet per year.

With a population of about 300,000 people, Murmansk, Russia, is the largest city by population located inside the Arctic Circle. The average low during the coldest part of the year in Murmansk is seven degrees Fahrenheit. However, thanks to relatively warmer sea currents, Murmansk’s Kola Bay does not freeze, and its seaport operates year round.

At kickoff of the 1967 NFL Championship game, the thermometer read 13 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. The game, held on New Year’s Eve, was a matchup between the Cowboys and the Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Even in extreme cold, the “Ice Bowl” drew 50,000 fans to watch the home Packers defeat the Cowboys 21-17 for their third straight championship.

Canada is the world’s second-coldest country on average, ranking behind Russia. Of Canada’s 10 provinces and three territories, Nunavut experiences the coldest winters, with an average temperature of -28 degrees Fahrenheit. Canada’s coldest city with over 10,000 residents is Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, with an average temperature of -18 degrees.

While it only has a population of around 500 people, Oymyakon, Russia, qualifies as the coldest permanently inhabited city on Earth, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Oymyakon’s daily mean temperature in January is -51 degrees Fahrenheit. In 1933, Oymyakon registered a temperature reading of -90 degrees.

Montanans were certainly feeling the chill on Rogers Pass on January 20, 1954, when the coldest temperature in the contiguous U.S. was recorded — a whopping 70 degrees Fahrenheit below zero. Situated on the Continental Divide, Rogers Pass lies 5,610 feet above sea level opposite the Helena National Forest, a rugged region that remains largely inaccessible.

Alaska’s Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley) has the highest peak in North America, standing 20,308 feet above sea level. The mountain is also the site of the coldest recorded temperature in U.S. history — in 2003, scientists recorded a temperature of -100.84 degrees Fahrenheit.

Located on the Canadian border, the city of International Falls, Minnesota, trademarked the title “Ice Box of the Nation” in 2008 (though two other U.S. cities unofficially claim the nickname). International Falls has a record low of -55 degrees Fahrenheit, and its average January temperature is just 4.4 degrees Fahrenheit.