The Coldest Temperature Recorded Was Minus 89 Degrees Celsius

The desolate expanse of the East Antarctic Plateau is one of the most extreme environments on the planet. Sitting nearly 3,500 meters above sea level, far from the moderating influence of any ocean, this high-altitude ice desert experiences months of continuous darkness during the polar winter. These unique geographical factors created the perfect conditions for a historic weather event at the Russian Vostok research station. On July 21, 1983, under clear, calm skies that allowed heat to radiate rapidly into space, the temperature plummeted to an astonishing minus 89.2 degrees Celsius, the lowest ever directly measured on Earth's surface.

At such an unimaginable cold, the physical world changes. The air is so frigid that simply breathing it can cause hemorrhaging in the lungs, forcing researchers to wear special masks. Any moisture freezes instantly, and common materials lose their integrity; steel becomes brittle enough to shatter, and mercury is frozen (Review) solid. This official ground-based record has stood for decades, but modern satellite technology has since detected even colder surface temperatures in other remote pockets of Antarctica, with some readings dipping below minus 93 degrees Celsius. These satellite measurements, however, are not considered official meteorological records in the same way as the historic reading from the hardy scientists at Vostok.