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The Poles of Cold are the places in the southern and northern hemispheres where the lowest air temperatures have been recorded.

Southern Hemisphere[link]

Lake Vostok composite image (NASA)

In the Southern Hemisphere, the Pole of Cold is currently located in Antarctica, at the Russian (formerly Soviet) Antarctic station Vostok at 78°28′S 106°48′E / 78.467°S 106.8°E / -78.467; 106.8 (Vostok). On July 21, 1983, this station recorded a temperature of −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F). This is the lowest naturally occurring temperature ever recorded on Earth. Vostok station's location at the elevation of 3,488 metres (11,444 ft) above sea level, far removed from moderating influence of oceans (more than 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) from the nearest sea coast), and high latitude that results in almost 3 months of civil polar night every year (early May to end of July), all combine to produce an environment where temperatures rarely rise above −25 °C (−13 °F) during summer and frequently fall below −70 °C (−94 °F) in winter. By comparison, the South Pole, due to its lower elevation, is, on average, 5 to 10 °C (9 to 18 °F) warmer than Vostok, and the lowest temperature ever recorded at the South Pole is −82.8 °C (−117.0 °F).

It is generally thought that Vostok is not the coldest place in Antarctica, and there are locations (notably, Dome A) that are modestly colder on average. Monitoring stations in Antarctica are few and far between; prior to 1995, Vostok was the only research station on the Antarctic Plateau above the elevation of 3,000 metres (9,800 ft), with no other stations for several hundreds of kilometers in any direction. Temperatures below −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F), if they did occur elsewhere, would not have been recorded. The automatic weather station at Dome A was only installed in 2005, and has recorded −82.5 °C (−116.5 °F) as the coldest so far (2010).

Northern Hemisphere[link]

In the Northern Hemisphere, there are two places in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Siberia, Russia that vie for the honour of being considered the "Pole of Cold". These are Verkhoyansk (located at 67°33′N 133°23′E / 67.55°N 133.383°E / 67.55; 133.383 (Verkhoyansk)) and Oymyakon (located at 63°15′N 143°9′E / 63.25°N 143.15°E / 63.25; 143.15 (Oymyakon)).

In December 1868 and then in February 1869 I. A. Khudyakov made the discovery of the Northern Pole of Cold by measuring a record temperature of −63.2 °C (−81.8 °F) in Verkhoyansk. Later, on January 15, 1885 a temperature of −67.8 °C (−90.0 °F) was registered there by S. F. Kovalik. This became the new world record, and is still the record for the northern hemisphere. This measurement was published in the Annals of the General Physical Observatory in 1892; by mistake it was written as −69.8 °C (−93.6 °F),^[1] which was later corrected. One can still find this incorrect value in some literature.

In 1924, Russian scientist Sergey Obrychev registered the lowest temperature −71.2 °C (−96.2 °F). On February 6, 1933, a temperature of −67.7 °C (−89.9 °F) was recorded at Oymyakon's weather station.^[2] The weather station is in a valley between Oymyakon and Tomtor. The station is at 750 metres (2,460 ft) and the surrounding mountains at 1,100 metres (3,610 ft), causing cold air to pool in the valley: recent studies show that winter temperatures in the area increase with altitude by as much as 10°C (18°F).^[3]

The conventional practice is to round the measurement to the nearest degree Celsius. In this convention, the two places share the Northern Hemisphere record of −68 °C (−90 °F). On the other hand, some meteorologists say it is wrong to compare the data measured in different years with different equipment and different uncertainties. A more correct procedure is to compare average temperatures over large periods of time. On the average, the temperature at Oymyakon appeared to be lower than at Verkhoyansk over 70 years of simultaneous observations.

Another possible candidate is Mount Logan in Canada which recorded a temperature of −77.5 °C (−107.5 °F) in May 1991. This is quite controversial as it is at a very high altitude at nearly 6000 m (19,685 feet).^[4]

See also[link]

• List of weather records
• Life in the Freezer

References[link]

External references[link]

• Living in Antarctica
• Ask about life in the Pole of Cold

Trent Willmon (born March 6, 1973) is an American country music artist. Active since 1998 as a songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee, Willmon was signed to Columbia Records in 2004. He released two albums for the label (2004's Trent Willmon and 2006's A Little More Livin') and charted six singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts before exiting Columbia in 2006. A third album, entitled Broken In, was released on the independent Compadre label in February 2008.

Musical career[link]

Willmon was born in Amarillo, Texas^[1] and was raised on a ranch near Afton, Texas. After 2 years at South Plains College as an Animal Science major, he left to pursue music, playing with several Texas- based bands, including playing bass for bluegrass legend Karl Shiflett. In 1999 he signed a staff writing deal with SeaGayle Music. One of his first cuts as a songwriter was "It Doesn't Mean I Don't Love You", which he co-wrote with Bobby Pinson and Jeremy Spillman. It was recorded by the duo McHayes (which comprised 1990s country singer Wade Hayes and fiddler Mark McClurg), and reached 41 on the country charts in 2003.

Willmon signed with Columbia Records in 2004. His self-titled debut album was released that year, and it produced four singles. The first of these was "Beer Man", which peaked at 30 on the country charts. Following it were "Dixie Rose Deluxe's" at 36, "Home Sweet Holiday Inn" at 49, and finally "The Good Life" at 38.^[2] A second album, A Little More Livin', followed in 2006. Although its lead-off single "On Again Tonight" became his highest chart entry at 27, the follow-up "So Am I" peaked at 59, and Willmon exited Columbia's roster.^[2]

Willmon signed with Compadre Records in 2007. His third album, Broken In, was released on February 26, 2008.^[3] The album produced three singles in "There Is a God", the title track, and "Cold Beer and a Fishing Pole", though none of these entered the charts. In early 2008, he also made his acting debut in the film Palo Pinto Gold, a cowboy film also starring Roy Clark and Mel Tillis.^[3] Willmon also co-wrote Montgomery Gentry's 2009 single "Back When I Knew It All" and Steel Magnolia's 2010 single "Keep On Lovin' You".

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

Music videos[link]

References[link]