Earth’s Cold Spots This Week: The 10 Coldest Places in the World

By Paul Harrison, Orbis Weather

Week covered: Wednesday, November 4 to Tuesday, November 10, 2026.

The coldest reading on Earth last week was −76°F (−59.8°C) at Concordia, the French-Italian station at Dome C in East Antarctica. It was observed at 18:00 UTC on Friday, November 6, according to synoptic reports published by Pogoda i Klimat. Russia’s Vostok station came next at −72°F (−57.8°C) on Saturday, November 7.

Four of the ten places were in Antarctica, and the other six were in Russia’s Far East. Friday, November 6 was the most common date: four of the ten logged their lowest reading that day. The coldest inhabited place outside Antarctica was Verkhoyansk in Yakutia, at −42°F (−41.2°C) on Sunday, November 8.

The 10 coldest places

Every place on the list fell to −28°F (−33.2°C) or lower. Readings are the lowest daily minimum at each station for the week, dated by UTC day; ties share a rank.

*Concordia published no daily minimum this week. Its figure is the lowest of four daily observations, so the true minimum was at least this cold.

Just missing the list was Tura in Evenkia, Krasnoyarsk Krai, at −28°F (−33.1°C).

Where the cold showed up

The deepest cold sat on the East Antarctic Plateau, while a cold spell in Yakutia peaked in the middle of the week.

East Antarctic Plateau: The cold peaked from Thursday to Saturday at Dome C, Vostok and the South Pole. It eased by Tuesday, when Concordia’s 18:00 UTC reading was −63°F (−52.6°C) and Vostok’s minimum was −62°F (−52.4°C).

Coastal Antarctica: Coastal stations were far milder. The coldest coastal minimum was −16°F (−26.6°C) at Germany’s Neumayer III on Wednesday. Russia’s Novolazarevskaya reached −5°F (−20.4°C) on Monday.

Siberia and Yakutia: On November 5, Gismeteo placed Yakutia at the centre of a cold anomaly, with readings below −30°C from Taymyr to Chukotka. Forecaster Mikhail Leus said on November 6 that Oymyakon had reached −40°C for the first time this season. Readings eased on Tuesday, to −24°F (−31.0°C) at Verkhoyansk and −27°F (−32.7°C) at Oymyakon. In Mongolia, Tosontsengel’s lowest was −9°F (−22.9°C).

Greenland and the North American Arctic: Eureka, on Nunavut’s Ellesmere Island, was the coldest site found in North America, at −23°F (−30.4°C) on November 8 and 9. Kap Morris Jesup, at Greenland’s northern tip, fell to −17°F (−27.2°C) by November 10. Alaska’s lowest hourly reading was −10°F (−23.3°C) at Anaktuvuk Pass on Monday. Alaska’s News Source said on November 4 that “the season as a whole is still shaping up to be a warm one.”

About this list

The list ranks the lowest observed temperatures at distinct stations worldwide from November 4 to 10, 2026. The readings are synoptic reports from national weather services, compiled by Pogoda i Klimat and Meteociel. The North American readings also draw on Iowa State University’s Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Russian stations report minimums with their 21:00 and 00:00 UTC observations, which fall on the next local morning in Yakutia. Pogoda i Klimat lists Dome C II (WMO 89828) as Dome Fuji, but its coordinates, 75.1°S and 123.4°E, place it at Dome C.

All figures are preliminary and can be revised. Several remote stations published no data for the week, including Summit on the Greenland ice sheet, Delyankir and Ust-Nera in Yakutia, and several plateau automatic stations, so colder spots may be missing. Vostok lacked a minimum for November 4 in one of the two sources. No daily minimums were excluded; one isolated hourly reading at Dome C II did not affect its daily low.

Frequently asked questions

Why are only four Antarctic stations on the list? Few stations on the high plateau published data this week. Dome Fuji, Relay Station and other plateau automatic stations had no readings available, so Russian towns filled the lower half.

What was the coldest inhabited place? Verkhoyansk, a town in Yakutia, ranked fifth. Oymyakon, which the weather site Pogoda Mail calls the pole of cold, ranked sixth.

Why does Concordia carry an asterisk? The station’s reports this week carried no daily minimum. Its figure is the coldest of four observations a day, so its true low was at least that cold.

What do forecasters expect next? On November 6, forecaster Mikhail Leus said the frosts in Yakutia should ease slightly after the night of November 7 to 8. The Yakutsk weather service forecast nights of −27°F to −36°F (−33°C to −38°C) around Oymyakon for November 11. In Alaska, a cooler pattern is expected to settle in, with many areas only near or slightly below seasonal values.

Sources

• Pogoda i Klimat monthly climate monitor, November 2026 (retrieved November 11, 2026): Verkhoyansk, Oymyakon, Susuman, Ust-Moma, Zhigansk, Olenek, Tura, Tosontsengel, Dome C II (listed as Dome Fuji), Vostok, Novolazarevskaya, Neumayer III, Eureka, Kap Morris Jesup
• Pogoda i Klimat synoptic archives, November 2026 (retrieved November 11, 2026): Concordia, Vostok, Verkhoyansk, Oymyakon, Susuman, Ust-Moma, Zhigansk, Olenek
• Meteociel monthly station observations, November 2026 (retrieved November 11, 2026): Vostok, Amundsen-Scott South Pole, Novolazarevskaya
• Iowa Environmental Mesonet, Anaktuvuk Pass hourly observations (retrieved November 11, 2026)
• Gismeteo, “Сильные морозы ударили на огромной территории России” (November 5, 2026)
• Pogoda Mail, Oymyakon reaches −40°C, quoting forecaster Mikhail Leus (November 6, 2026)
• YSIA, Yakutsk weather service forecast for November 11 (November 10, 2026)
• Alaska’s News Source, Stormy weather in Southeast with falling temperatures across mainland Alaska (November 4, 2026)