Bubbles Turn to Ice as Temperatures Plummet in Coldest City on Earth

Bubbles blown by a family in the Siberian city of Yakutsk froze instantly into balls of ice as a vast anticyclone carrying Arctic air brought extremely cold temperatures to Russia’s remote region.

The footage, posted to VKontakte by user @roditeli__7 on January 17, shows several members of a family blowing bubbles using a bubble gun and straws. The bubbles are seen to instantly freeze, with some nestling on family members’ hands and on fencing.

The recorder said they filmed the video on January 15, when temperatures were -50 degrees Celsius (-58 Fahrenheit), according to local media.

On January 10, air temperatures dropped to -61.9 Celsius in the village of Zhilinda in the Republic of Sakha, where Yakutsk is the capital. This was the second time this winter that air temperatures had dropped below -60, according to Meteovesti.ru.

The lowest temperature ever recorded in an inhabited area was -67 degrees Celsius (-88.6 Fahrenheit) in Oymyakon, east of Yakutsk, in 1933, according to Guinness World Records.

The temperature in the city had not risen above -42 degrees all week, as of January 18, Meteovesti.ru said Credit: @roditeli__7 via Storyful