Four months of darkness a year, temperatures that freeze eyeballs and the nearest town is 340 miles away: Inside the most northerly settlement in the world
- Alert in Nunavut, Canada, has an average February temperature of -33.2C
- The record low is -50C and it's not possible to reach the community by car
- Those that live and work in the settlement are known as the Frozen Chozen
Would you live somewhere with weather cold enough to freeze your eyeballs?
Not many would – but those that live in the most northerly town on earth have to endure it.
Welcome to Alert in Nunavut, Canada, on Ellesmere Island, where the average February temperature is -33.2C and the record low is -50C.
![In Alert in Nunavut, Canada, on Ellesmere Island, the average February temperature is -33.2C and the record low is -50C](http://web.archive.org./web/20170209151808/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/09/12/3CEC1E6100000578-4207688-image-a-10_1486644727023.jpg)
In Alert in Nunavut, Canada, on Ellesmere Island, the average February temperature is -33.2C and the record low is -50C
![Alert isn’t strictly a town – it’s actually a military installation that’s recorded as the northernmost inhabited place in the world](http://web.archive.org./web/20170209151808/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/09/13/3CEC1DA700000578-4207688-Alert_isn_t_strictly_a_town_it_s_actually_a_military_installatio-m-26_1486645245109.jpg)
Alert isn’t strictly a town – it’s actually a military installation that’s recorded as the northernmost inhabited place in the world
![In Alert it's dark for four months of the year and for another four the sun doesn't make it above the horizon](http://web.archive.org./web/20170209151808/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/09/13/3CEC1D8B00000578-4207688-In_Alert_it_s_dark_for_four_months_of_the_year_and_for_another_f-m-27_1486645259745.jpg)
In Alert it's dark for four months of the year and for another four the sun doesn't make it above the horizon
![Alert is in the province of Nunavut, which has a total area of 2,093,190 square kilometres (808,190 square miles) and a population of approximately 33,330 people - that's one person for every 25 square miles](http://web.archive.org./web/20170209151808/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/09/13/3CF45EDB00000578-4207688-image-a-29_1486645793451.jpg)
Alert is in the province of Nunavut, which has a total area of 2,093,190 square kilometres (808,190 square miles) and a population of approximately 33,330 people - that's one person for every 25 square miles
These temperatures are cold enough to freeze unprotected corneas, skin and muscle, in minutes.
But that’s not all the population here – which can reach over 200 - has to contend with.
There’s the isolation, too. The nearest town to Alert is 340 miles away and you cannot reach it by car – only by air or sea. Or dogsled.
And there’s a lot of gloom. It’s dark for four months of the year.
And for four months the sun doesn’t even make it above the horizon.
![Those that live and work Alert – between a few dozen and sometimes over 200 – are known as ‘The Frozen Chosen’](http://web.archive.org./web/20170209151808/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/09/12/3CEC1DD200000578-4207688-image-a-13_1486644906390.jpg)
Those that live and work Alert – between a few dozen and sometimes over 200 – are known as ‘The Frozen Chosen’
Alert isn’t strictly a town – it’s actually a military installation that’s recorded as the northernmost inhabited place in the world.
Those that live and work here – between a few dozen and sometimes over 200 at a time – are known as ‘The Frozen Chosen’.
Employment for these hardy folk is at a military signals intelligence radio receiving facility and two weather monitoring stations.
Those working at the signals station are likely to be tasked with eavesdropping on the Russians. At least, they certainly were at the height of the Cold War.
![Employment for the hardy folk in Alert is at a military signals intelligence radio receiving facility and two weather monitoring stations](http://web.archive.org./web/20170209151808/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/09/12/3CEC1E3500000578-4207688-image-a-14_1486644911698.jpg)
Employment for the hardy folk in Alert is at a military signals intelligence radio receiving facility and two weather monitoring stations
![The nearest town to Alert is 340 miles away and you cannot reach it by car – only by air or sea. Or dogsled](http://web.archive.org./web/20170209151808/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/09/12/3CEC1E4A00000578-4207688-image-a-16_1486644933275.jpg)
The nearest town to Alert is 340 miles away and you cannot reach it by car – only by air or sea. Or dogsled
![Temperatures can be so low at Alert that unprotected skin will freeze within minutes](http://web.archive.org./web/20170209151808/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/09/12/3CEC1DE900000578-4207688-image-a-19_1486644996132.jpg)
Temperatures can be so low at Alert that unprotected skin will freeze within minutes
![Delicate 'frost flowers' in Alert are captured in this image](http://web.archive.org./web/20170209151808/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/09/12/3CEC1DE000000578-4207688-image-a-20_1486645001467.jpg)
Delicate 'frost flowers' in Alert are captured in this image
![Sparse: The local vegetation can be hard to spot](http://web.archive.org./web/20170209151808/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/09/12/3CEC1DC000000578-4207688-image-a-24_1486645070515.jpg)
Sparse: The local vegetation can be hard to spot
![Those that live and work in Alert have the area to themselves](http://web.archive.org./web/20170209151808/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/09/12/3CEC1E4300000578-4207688-image-a-23_1486645064524.jpg)
Those that live and work in Alert have the area to themselves
Moscow, it turns out, is closer to Alert than Ottawa in Canada.
In 2004, Amusing Planet pointed out, The Sun newspaper provided some insight on what it was like living in Alert.
The paper wrote: ‘The soldiers, a lot of them volunteers, serve six month postings - divided by a three week vacation. TV's in various rooms show four channels of live television and another four of movies, played from the stations stock of 4,500 video and DVDs. Listening to the base's CHAR-FM 105.9 trivia shows are another popular pastime. Much of the station is devoted to recreation, with two gyms, a darkroom, a bowling alley and a theatre.
'Evenings are filled with activities -- multi-player computer games, woodworking, bingo, euchre and trivia.
![For months this is about as light as it gets in Alert](http://web.archive.org./web/20170209151808/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/09/12/3CEC1D7300000578-4207688-image-a-15_1486644920254.jpg)
For months this is about as light as it gets in Alert
![United States Ambassador David Jacobson paid Alert a visit](http://web.archive.org./web/20170209151808/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/09/12/3CEC1E5500000578-4207688-image-a-17_1486644940955.jpg)
United States Ambassador David Jacobson paid Alert a visit
‘Like a crew inside a submarine, the isolation and uniqueness of Alert pull people together and drive others apart.’
Alert’s name was taken from HMS Alert, which wintered nearby in 1875 and whose captain was the first to reach the tip of Ellesmere Island.
The province of Nunavut, meanwhile, is very sparsely populated.
It has a total area of 2,093,190 square kilometres (808,190 square miles) and a population of approximately 33,330 people — 84 per cent Inuit. That’s one person for every 65 square kilometres (25 square miles) of Arctic, according to nunavuttourism.com.
![Alert’s name was taken from HMS Alert (pictured), which wintered nearby in 1875 and whose captain was the first to reach the tip of Ellesmere Island](http://web.archive.org./web/20170209151808/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/09/13/3CFFE86700000578-4207688-image-a-28_1486645394184.jpg)
Alert’s name was taken from HMS Alert (pictured), which wintered nearby in 1875 and whose captain was the first to reach the tip of Ellesmere Island
![A group of hikers walk across the barren landscape near Alert](http://web.archive.org./web/20170209151808/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/09/12/3CEC1DF100000578-4207688-image-a-21_1486645012384.jpg)
A group of hikers walk across the barren landscape near Alert
![In 1950 a Royal Canadian Air Force Lancaster crashed while dropping supplies to Alert, with the death of nine crew members. Pictured is a memorial to those who lost their lives](http://web.archive.org./web/20170209151808/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/09/13/3CEC1E1C00000578-4207688-In_1950_a_Royal_Canadian_Air_Force_Lancaster_crashed_while_dropp-m-30_1486646388584.jpg)
In 1950 a Royal Canadian Air Force Lancaster crashed while dropping supplies to Alert, with the death of nine crew members. Pictured is a memorial to those who lost their lives
![The graves of those that perished in the 1950 crash](http://web.archive.org./web/20170209151808/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/02/09/12/3CEC1DFC00000578-4207688-image-m-22_1486645016885.jpg)
The graves of those that perished in the 1950 crash
Most watched News videos
- Danielle Bregoli throws punches while boarding Spirit Airways
- Cameraman 'zooms in' on woman's breasts in 'see-through' swimsuit
- Caught on camera: Bystanders watch topless men fighting in street
- Moment Lindsay Hoyle and Alex Salmond scream at each other
- Danielle Bregoli discusses fighting a 'crack head' with her mom
- 'I don't take no s***': Bus driver kicks drunk man off bus
- Watch Barack Obama wipe out in kite surfing battle
- McConnell blocks Warren from reading letter from MLK's wife
- Footage shows hostile environment that Alexander Blackman endured
- Melissa McCarthy nails screeching Sean Spicer on SNL
- Danielle went viral after appearing on Dr Phil in 2016
- Moment woman pops open her shirt by flexing her boobs
-
Socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, 45, dies at her London...
-
'She hit my mom and I need to whoop her right now:'...
-
Barack Obam-AIR! New photos show former president...
-
San Francisco transit janitor who makes more than $250K a...
-
Woman accused of Photoshopping an engaged stranger's face...
-
'My intestines were out... and she was grabbing hold of...
-
Snow could hit London TONIGHT and it's set to be a white...
-
Chilling moment four women are stranded on a rock in the...
-
Tara's devastating secret illness in her own words: How...
-
Thinking of her breaststroke? Distracted cameraman...
-
The astonishing moment a Zebra's head is left poking out...
-
Bridge of sighs: Disgusted mother, 19, spots a couple...
-
Visiting daddy at work! Ivanka shares sweet snap of her...
-
New male contraceptive jab that works for TWO YEARS:...
-
Iraqi girl, 10, is 'bitten to death' with medieval...
-
Manchester City star John Stones splashes out £3.4million...
-
Mother is sentenced to 16 years in prison for incest,...
-
92% of left-wing activists live with their parents and...