Where can you find the world's worst weather?
- 1/10
10. Oymyakon, Republic of Sakha, Russian Siberia. The small village of Oymyakon is the coldest inhabited place on Earth. An estimated 500 people live in average nighttime winter temperatures of -45C - but bask in summer temperatures of 30C. During the winter it is so cold the ground is rock hard and it takes three days to dig a grave. No crops can be sustained during these months. But villagers are used to the extreme weather- Oymyakon's solitary school only shuts if temperatures fall below -52C. (Rex Features)
Rex Features - 2/10
9. Bouvet Island. The Norwegian land mass is the most remote island in the world - its nearest neighbour is Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, 1000 miles away. Underneath the island is an extinct volcano and 90 per cent of the land is covered by glacial ice. No humans live on the island and there are no safe landings fit for helicopter visits. A number of species of penguins live among the rocky beaches and cliffs withstanding the freezing temperatures year round. (François Guerraz/ Wikipedia Commons)
Yahoo News - 3/10
8. Central Sahara Desert. The outskirts of the famous desert is near large bodies of water - which regulates the temperatures and weather. But the heart of the Sahara is a different story - dust and sandstorms plague the landscape and there is little or no vegetation. In the summer months the temperature can reach 50C but plummet to below freezing during the winter. This is not the worst of the weather, however, a single day can experience variations in temperature from -0.5C to 37.5C. A human being would last just days in this tough landscape. (WestEnd61/REX)
Rex Features - 4/10
7. South Patagonian Andes. Pictured is the Cerro Torre mountain. The South American mountain range is battered by powerful winds and deafening gales, bitter cold temperatures and never-ending snowfall. The conditions in the mountains are so extreme that no weather stations have ever placed there. (Image Broker/REX)
Rex Features - 5/10
6. Gandom-e Beryan, Dasht-e Lut, Iran, seen from space. The scorching landscape is believed to be the hottest place on Earth. Dasht-e Lut, Persian for the "emptiness desert" is in eastern-central Iran and has an average temperature of 70.7C. In the heart of Lut is an inhabited, lifeless black plateau. According to local legend, in the 1950s a caravan carrying wheat spilled its contents on the dry earth. A few days later another caravan happened upon the same spot and discovered the grain had been burnt black. As a consequence the area was nicknamed 'Gandom-e Beryan' - Persian for 'scorched wheat'. (NASA/ Wikipedia Commons)
Yahoo News - 6/10
5. Summit Camp, Greenland. The icy home of the Summit Station, a US scientific research facility. It experiences harsh polar conditions and the temperature rarely exceeds 0C. In the summer months the daily temperature is -11C while winter weather sees an average low of -48C. Frequent storms and snow can severely disorientate inhabitants. The constant flurry of snow means inhabitants can get lost easily and freeze to death. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
Associated Press Photos - 7/10
4. 4. K2 Region of the Karakoram Himalaya. K2, or Mount Godwin Austin, is 28,244ft above sea level in the Pakistan/China reigion of the Himalayas. Fierce storms mean no one has ever reached the top during winter months. It is known as 'Savage Mountain' and only four people have ever reached the top. Many climbers have died trying to climb the dangerous mountain. Pictured dated 1910. (Design Pics Inc/REX)
Rex Features - 8/10
3. Coastal Antarctica. The long stretch of coast experiences temperatures that can be fatal to humans. Deadly storms bash the coastline and ferocious winds can reach up to 129 mph. (Photo by Anja Fleig/SplashdownDirect/REX)
Rex Features - 9/10
2. High Icefield Ranges of Yukon Territory and Alaska. The mountain range in Canada and United States is home to the 'Himalaya of North America' where peaks reach a height of up to 20,000ft above sea level. The remote region is rarely visited because of the treacherous storms and snowfall which pound the area endlessly for weeks. Mount Saint Elias, pictured, is just 10 miles from the shores of the Gulf of Alaska. It experiences such harsh weather that no weather station has been established there. (Design Pics Inc/REX)
Rex Features - 10/10
1. Vostok Station, Antarctica. The scientific research station is on the east Antarctic Ice Sheet. It used to hold the record for the coldest place on earth - -88.C - until recently when NASA recorded a temperature of -93.2C near a high ridge on the East Antarctic Plateau. The station is kept inhabitable to Russian scientists (pictured) thanks to technology but otherwise life would not - and cannot - survive here. Persistent winds from 10-60mph constantly batter the station and less than one inch of rains falls in Vostok per year. (PA)
Press Association Images
Updated
As we Britons start to feel the chill of winter it's all too tempting to have a grumble. But spare a thought for those who have had to experience more inhospitable climes. The journal 'Weatherwise' has analysed multiple locations around the world where extreme weather conditions prevail and it's come up with a definitive list of ten places you'll probably want to avoid. In fact the weather in these ten locations is so awful that it is actually threatening to human life. Puts a nippy night in Northampton into context, doesn't it? Here's the countdown from 10 to 1.