MOSCOW: Temperatures reached -67 degrees Celsius in the remote Yakutia region in Russia on Tuesday (Jan 16), the Associated Press (AP) reported.
Pictures circulating on social media showed people posing with frozen eyelashes as temperatures reportedly fell to -50 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
Residents in Yakutia are normally used to the freezing conditions, with students routinely going to school even when temperatures are -40 degrees Celsius.
However, Tuesday’s blistering cold resulted in schools being cancelled throughout the region, reported AP. Parents were also ordered by the police to keep their children indoors.
In the village of Oymyakon in Yakutia, Russian media outlets showed the temperature falling to the bottom of a thermometer that was only set up to measure up to -50 degrees Celsius, said AP.
However, the lowest ever temperature recorded in Oymyakon was -71 degrees Celsius in 2013.
AP cited the press office for Yakutia’s governor as saying that all households and businesses in the area have access to central heating and access to backup power generators.
Yakutia is no stranger to cold spells. The region of 1 million people located 5,300km east of Moscow normally sees temperatures that range from 18 degrees Celsius to -40 degrees Celsius.
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/even-eyelashes-freeze-as-parts-of-russia-hit-67-degrees-celsius-9868586