Here's why Antarctica is so intensely cold

Antarctica.
(Image credit: RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP/Getty Images)

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.

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Shivani is the editorial assistant at TheWeek.com and has previously written for StreetEasy and Mic.com. A graduate of the physics and journalism departments at NYU, Shivani currently lives in Brooklyn and spends free time cooking, watching TV, and taking too many selfies.