WINTER is quickly approaching in the northern hemisphere, and along with the holiday season, it’s also bringing chilly weather.
For most of us in the US and UK, this means taking some time to enjoy hot chocolate and ice skating, however, there are some parts of the world that are so cold they’re uninhabitable.
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It’s no secret that Antarctica is home to some of the chilliest weather on the planet, but just how cold does it get there?
The coldest temperature ever recorded
According to Nasa’s records, the coldest temperature ever recorded on earth was produced in East Antarctica.
The sub-freezing temperature was recorded in 2013 at -94.7C (-135.8F).
The measurement, which was obtained via a Nasa satellite, might have been record-breaking but it was not the first time the region had experienced such low temps.
It happened previously in August 2010, when it hit the same temperature, and again in July 2013, when it came pretty close at -92.9C (-135.3F).
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The old record of -89.2C (-128.6F) was recorded in Vostok, Antarctica by Soviet researchers in 1983.
Because the East Antarctica temp was measured with a satellite instead of a thermometer, it was not included in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Still, scientists expressed relief that they were not physically present to measure the temperature with a thermometer.
“Thank God, I don’t know how exactly it feels,” Ice scientist Ted Scambos said.
Scambos also noted that oftentimes researchers have to breathe through a snorkel that brings air into the coat “so you don’t inhale by accident” the cold air.
The coldest temparture recorded in the US
All this talk about chilly weather might have you wondering just how low temps have dropped in the US.
As expected, the coldest temperature recorded throughout all 50 states was set in Alaska, according to The Weather Channel.
The subzero temperature, which was recorded in Prospect Creek, plummeted to -62.2C (-80F) degrees on January 23, 1971.
The coldest temperature recorded in the UK
UK temperatures, on the other hand, have plunged to a record low of -27.2 C, in Braemar, East Scotland, and Altnaharra in the North of Scotland.
These lows were recorded on January 10, 1982, and December 30, 1995, respectively.
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Iceberg the size of London has broken off from Antarctica
In other news, a NASA spacecraft has officially touched the sun, plunging through the unexplored solar atmosphere known as the corona.
Samsung is reportedly killing off its beloved Note smartphone after more than a decade.
Apple has announced that it will let customers fix their own iPhones for the first time starting next year.
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