Ice is the primary source of water for the people living in Yakutia (Russia), the coldest place on Earth.
Similar to a desert, drinking water in the village of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia, is extremely scarce, especially during the frigid winter months. According to the scientific information site Phys.org, ice serves as the main source of drinking and household water for the residents of this region.
Ice serves as the main source of drinking and household water for the residents of this region.
Local residents typically harvest ice every November by using a spear to strike the ice blocks to break them free from the ground and store them outside for winter.
As the weather warms up, the residents transfer water containers into underground cellars. These containers act as natural “freezers” that operate year-round thanks to the walls made of permafrost.
It is estimated that each small household requires about 10m2 of ice during the winter. Locals report that harvesting ice is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process, especially when the ice layers are about 50 cm thick.
A villager named Innokenty Tobonov shared that to help a woman over 70 years old in the village get drinking water, he and others had to spend an hour just to cut a small block of ice from the ground in -41 degrees Celsius weather. The cold caused their eyelashes to freeze, Phys.org reported.
