The Coldest Place on Earth

According to National Geographic, the coldest place on Earth is the East Antarctic Ice Sheet with temperatures as low as minus 144 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature reading was taken during the polar winter and is the lowest temperature ever recorded on the Earth. Russia’s Vostok Weather Station previously held the record for the lowest recorded temperature. However, that record has been surpassed greatly by the East Antarctic Ice Shelf. To get an idea of how cold minus 144 degrees is, inhaling air that cold would cause your lungs to hemorrhage after just a few breaths.

The new record breaking temperature was recorded by Russian researchers who wore special masks that heated the air that they were breathing. The University of Colorado stated that the temperature may have been even lower at another location in the vicinity of where the Russian researchers took their readings. The sub-freezing temps were recorded using satellite measurements, leaving the researchers to speculate that “It’s a place where Eart is so close to it’s limits, it’s almost like another planet.”

Due to increasing global warming, this could possibly be the coldest temperatures that will ever be recorded on Earth.