43 COLDEST PLACE

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THE COLDEST PLACE ON EARTH: MINUS 93° C

According to NASA Earth Observatory satellites, the coldest place on earth is a mountain ridge on the East Antarctic Plateau where temperatures can drop to -93 degrees Celsius (-136° Fahrenheit).

For the past week, much of North America has been affected by an extreme winter storm that brought massive snowfalls, destructive winds, and frigid temperatures as low as -28° C (-20° F). That is low enough for the average person to suffer frostbite in just under 10 minutes of direct exposure, but it is not nearly as dangerous as the coldest place on earth.

NASA satellites have discovered a high mountain ridge on the East Antarctic Plateau where, on clear winter nights, temperatures drop to an unimaginable -93º C.

Exposure to such temperatures without special gear, even for a few seconds, can be fatal. By contrast, exposure to -70° C can cause frostbite in under two minutes, according to the US National Weather Service.

This high Antarctic ridge has held the title of “world’s coldest place” since 2013, when satellites first recorded temperatures there, but it has steadily been getting colder. In 2013, the lowest recorded temperature was -92° C, but now it seems to have dropped to -93° C.

Temperatures in this coldest place on earth are much lower than temperatures in some areas of Mars, a planet much farther from the sun than earth. The Red Planet averages temperatures of –63° C, although toward the poles, they drop to an unbelievable -140° C, during winter months.