 One Word: Brrrrrr! The High Arctic is a polar desert - the coldest and driest landscape in the Arctic area, and it is one of the harshest environments in the world! In January and February, the average temperature up there hovers around a numbing -29°F / -34°C. The temperature averages below freezing year-round, with an average annual temperature of only -14°C / 7°F.
If you think you could bask in the summer sunshine, forget it. Summer highs average only -1.5°C / 29°F!
The lowest world temperature in inhabited areas was recorded in the Arctic. The thermometers plunged to -90.4°F / -68°C in both Oymyakon, Siberia (Feb. 6, 1933) and Verkhoyansk, Siberia (Jan. 3, 1885). The lowest world temperature for anywhere, however, was -128.6°F / -89.2°C recorded at Vostok Station (Picture: Right), Antarctica on July 21, 1983 - and that doesn't include wind chill! Although the Arctic is known as a cold place, Fort Yukon, Alaska has recorded an extreme high temperature of 100°F / 37°C, while Verkhoyansk (which shares the record for the coldest place in the northern hemisphere) has recorded a high of 94°F / 34°C. That's quite a temperature spread! Check our Arctic map for today's WEATHER REPORTS.
Click pictures for more information and credits. Library: Arctic, Cold / Cold Places Environment/Atmosphere Links: Arctic, Cold Places, Environment Northern Arctic Ecozone News Story: Warning Signs in the Arctic Arctic Maps & Weather Reports |
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DICTIONARY: Just "double-click" any unlinked word on this page for the definition from Merriam-Webster's Student Electronic Dictionary at Word Central. |
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ARCTIC LIBRARY & GLOSSARY: Check this section for an index of the rest of the things you really need to know about the Arctic. |
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ARCTIC MAPS & WEATHER REPORTS: Maps of the Northwest Passage, explorers' routes, iceberg sources, Nunavut, the Arctic by treeline, temperature... |
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ARCTIC LINKS: Even more information! Links to sites related to the Arctic and "Iceberg: the Story of the Throps and the Squallhoots". |
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GUIDE TO ARCTIC SUNRISE & SUNSET: How much sunlight or darkness is there in the Arctic on each day of the year? |
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