In the modern world, there are more than two hundred capitals. Residents of some of them do not know what summer is like - winter lasts there almost all year round! In this article we will talk about the coldest capitals of the world. What are these cities and where are they located?
The coldest capitals of the world (list)
The most “frosty” settlement on the planet is Oymyakon. This is the village of Oymyakon in Yakutia (Russia), where the minimum air temperature was recorded: –65 degrees. Of course, in the list of the coldest capitals of the world there are no cities so extreme in the climatic plan. Moreover, the summer season in many of them is abnormally hot and arid. What kind of cities are these?
It should be noted that absolutely all the capitals on our list are located in the Northern Hemisphere. Moreover, eight out of ten cities are located within the Eurasian continent. When compiling the list, the average temperature of the coldest month of the year was taken into account. All cities were ranked precisely by this climatic indicator. So, the ten coldest capitals in the world are as follows:
- Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia).
- Astana (Kazakhstan).
- Ottawa (Canada).
- Nuuk (Greenland - Denmark).
- Moscow Russian Federation).
- Helsinki (Finland).
- Minsk (Belarus).
- Tallinn (Estonia).
- Kiev, Ukraine).
- Riga, Latvia).
Next, we consider the weather and climatic conditions of the five coldest metropolitan cities on our planet.
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
The average temperature in the coldest month is –21.6 ° C.
Average annual temperature: –0.4 ° C.
Ulaanbaatar is the coldest capital of the world! Who would have thought, because this city is on the same latitude as Chisinau and Budapest. So why is it so cold here? There are several reasons: firstly, Ulan Bator is located very far from the oceans, and secondly, it is located in the intermountain basin (the average height above sea level is 1350 meters).
The weather in Ulan Bator is characterized by rather sharp temperature drops, both daily and seasonal. In summer, the air here often warms up to +30, but in winter, temperatures can drop to –40 degrees Celsius. Particularly “fierce” here is the month of January. Rivers and rivulets at this time freeze through.
Nevertheless, even despite such severe weather, life is in full swing in Ulan Bator. This is evidenced by an eloquent fact: almost half of the inhabitants of Mongolia live in this city.
Astana, Kazakhstan
The average temperature in the coldest month is –14.2 ° C.
Average annual temperature: +3.5 ° C.
The second capital in our ranking is Astana. In winter, air temperatures here often fall to –20-25 ° C. Winters in the Kazakhstani capital are long, cold and very dry. In addition, they are often amplified by piercing and icy steppe winds. But in the summer, hot air masses penetrate into Astana, and quite hot weather sets in here.
Ottawa, Canada
The average temperature in the coldest month is –10.8 ° C.
Average annual temperature: +6.0 ° C.
The city of Ottawa is located on the border of two climatic zones. Therefore, weather conditions are extremely contrasting. In the summer, the Canadian capital is quite warm, but the winters are accompanied by real "cracking" frosts. The absolute temperature minimum that was recorded here was –39 ° C.
In addition, the city of Ottawa boasts another climatic record: it is the snowiest capital of the planet. Particularly heavy snowfalls are typical for December and January. During the three winter months in Ottawa, about 230 mm of precipitation falls. Mostly in the form of snow.
Nuuk, Greenland
The average temperature in the coldest month is –9.0 ° C.
Average annual temperature: –1.4 ° C.
Nuuk is the capital of the largest island of the planet - Greenland (which, in turn, is part of the Kingdom of Denmark). Only 16 thousand people live in this small town.
Nuuk is located on the southwestern coast of the island, exactly where the warm West Greenland Current flows. In this regard, the sea here never freezes, which creates good conditions for the development of fishing. From late May to early August, the so-called white nights last in Nuuk. In other words, natural light in this period of the year is present even at night.
Among all the world capitals, Nuuk has the lowest average annual air temperature. True, winter frosts are significantly mitigated by the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. But in the summer it is much colder here than in Ulan Bator or Ottawa. Air temperatures in July rarely rise in the capital of Greenland to +10 degrees.
There are no trees or shrubs at all in Nuuk. During a very short summer, the soil simply does not have time to defrost and warm up to the desired depth.
Moscow, Russia
The average temperature in the coldest month is –6.7 ° C.
Average annual temperature: +5.8 ° C.
Fifth place in the ranking of the coldest capital cities of the planet is Moscow. The capital of Russia is located in temperate latitudes, where four seasons a year are clearly expressed. It is quite hot here in summer and cold enough in winter. Twenty-degree frosts are by no means a rarity for Moscow. But the lowest air temperature in this city was recorded in 1940 (–42.2 ° C).
In general, Moscow winter lasts four months (from November 10 to March 20). At this time of the year, short periods with severe frosts alternate with thaws when the air temperature rises to zero or higher. Spring in Moscow is characterized by significant temperature differences. Sometimes in April it gets quite hot, but in May night frosts are often recorded.
Up to 800 millimeters of precipitation falls in the capital of Russia per year (most of them fall in the summer). Natural phenomena frequent for Moscow are fogs, downpours and thunderstorms. From time to time powerful hurricanes and tornadoes fall upon the city. The last of them happened in Moscow on May 29, 2017. A destructive storm claimed the lives of 18 people, damaged about 250 houses and tumbled down over 20 thousand trees.
