The coldest place on Earth is really, really cold.
In 2013, scientists pinpointed the lowest temperatures on Earth, in eastern Antarctica close to the South Pole, where the thermometer plunged to an almost inconceivably frigid negative 135 degrees Fahrenheit. But in a new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters this week, scientists have proven that it can get even colder.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But it's not as simple as that — as it turns out, temperatures that cold start to do funny things to "the limits of thermodynamics," IFL Science reported. Even though the open air can be slightly warmer, colder air is heavier and can sink into "pockets" near the surface of the uneven terrain in that area. These "pockets" can only form under very dry conditions, when there's little to no water vapor in the air to trap heat.
The NSIDC plans to place instruments near the South Pole to confirm this study's results, but scientists believe that this may well be the very coldest temperature possible on the surface of the Earth.
Read more about the science behind this unique, extreme cold at IFL Science.
-
The environmental cost of GLP-1sThe explainer Producing the drugs is a dirty process
-
Nuuk becomes ground zero for Greenland’s diplomatic straitsIN THE SPOTLIGHT A flurry of new consular activity in the remote Danish protectorate shows how important Greenland has become to Europeans’ anxiety about American imperialism
-
‘This is something that happens all too often’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
EU and India clinch trade pact amid US tariff warSpeed Read The agreement will slash tariffs on most goods over the next decade
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
