In most Russian settlements, the air temperature in winter rarely drops below zero degrees by more than 30-40 degrees. But this is not the limit at all.
Even on a warm and rather cozy planet Earth, there are areas with a harsh frosty climate. The story of where the lowest air temperature in the world that can impress anyone is presented in this article.
A little about the concept of "temperature"
Even in ancient times, the concept of temperature appeared. It has not undergone significant changes since then. And in ancient times, it was considered the temperature of "heating" of any body, and now. There are differences only in the description of her essence.
People of those times believed that the temperature is the result of the presence of some matter in the body, which is in weightlessness - caloric. Modern scientists believe that temperature is a measure of the internal energy of any body. It is due to the chaotic movement of particles, molecules, of which bodies are composed.
The following is the place where the mostlow temperature in the world, but first - about the situation in the universe.
About the coldest place in the Universe
The universe is replete with places where temperatures reach unimaginable and outrageous levels. The coldest known object in the Universe today is the young planetary Boomerang Nebula. It is located in the constellation Centaurus at a great distance from Earth - 5000 light years. It formed around a central bright star when it shed a cloud of gas during one of the last stages of its life.
The nebula, gradually expanding, ejects cooled gas at a speed of 500 thousand km per hour, the molecules of which have a temperature of -271 ° Celsius. This is the result of the enormous speed of their ejection. Most likely, this officially registered natural temperature is not the limit.
What causes extreme cold on Earth?
Typically, the coldest temperatures in the world form when the weather is clear and the air is calm, combined with the geography of the area.
Geographically, the coldest temperatures are far from the oceans and near the poles. The plateaus of Central and Eastern Siberia, East Antarctica and Central Greenland have the most suitable conditions.
It's colder on the hills too. For example, American scientists a few years ago in East Antarctica climbed up the continent in search of a minimum "warmth". The highest point is the dome "Argus" (height -4093 m). This is 664 meters above the location of the Vostok station. This dome always has calm air and clear clear skies, which is suitable for extreme cold.
The coldest temperature in the world
At the station "Vostok" the so-called "warmth" is the lowest in the world (for the period of observations since 1912). There is a possibility that it was even colder somewhere on Earth, but at that time there was no such equipment with which it would be possible to make accurate measurements.
The lowest recorded temperature in the world on record was in Antarctica in 1983. This is the location of the station "Vostok". The temperature at that time was -89.2° Celsius. The measurement was made by polar explorers and recorded in the observation log.
In 2013, American scientists reported the discovery of a new area in Antarctica, where temperatures are often set below the record. According to their data, the temperature in this area can reach extreme levels (-93.2 °C). It should be noted that a person at this temperature is waiting for a lethal outcome literally in 1-2 minutes. Such a low temperature is hard to imagine.
This is officially not yet a record value. After the announcement of such unthinkable values, the World Meteorological Organization did not accept them as extreme weather events, since the international committee that checks such weather conditions does not recognize the value measured usingremote sensing as official report.
How was the research done?
As noted above, the lowest temperature in the world is recorded in Antarctica. According to the latest data from NASA, the site with the lowest temperature is located high in the mountains of Antarctica, on the eastern Antarctic plateau between Mount Fuji and Argus. Measurements were taken using the Landset 8 satellite.
Researchers have assumed the existence of an area in Antarctica with a temperature below the recorded minimum arose after the discovery of faults in the snow dunes on the plateau. At the first stage of their work, American researchers measured temperatures from satellites using the MODIS spectroradiometer and the AVHRR radiometer. Extreme sub-zero temperatures have been recorded on the ridge (620 miles long) between Argus and Mount Fuji. But even colder temperatures have been noted in pockets of the ridge.
Further studies were continued by the more sensitive TIRS infrared radiometer installed on the new Landset 8 satellite.
From 2003 to 2013, the coldest temperature in the world was detected by remote sensing in small depressions in the expanse of endless ice, in the vicinity of the Argus dome.
In conclusion
Regions where the lowest temperatures in the world were officially recorded:
- city of Verkhoyansk in Russia (-67.8° Celsius in February 1892);
- Oymyakon village in Russia (-67.8° eastCelsius in February 1933);
- Greenland in the Arctic Ocean (-66.1° Celsius in January 1954);
- Vostok station in Antarctica (-88.3° Celsius in August 1960);
- Plato station in Antarctica (-86.2° Celsius in July 1968);
- Vostok station (-89.2° Celsius in July 1983);
- Argus dome in Antarctica (-82.5° Celsius in July 2005).
