According to NASA’s Earth observation satellites, the coldest place on the planet is a mountain slope located on the East Antarctic Plateau, where temperatures can drop to a shocking -100 degrees Celsius.
Mountain slope on the East Antarctic Plateau with temperatures dropping to a shocking -100 degrees Celsius. (Illustration: Livescience).
Last week, much of the United States was affected by a major snowstorm, causing record snowfall, strong winds, and bone-chilling temperatures below -40 degrees Celsius. Such temperatures can cause frostbite in a normal person within less than 10 minutes of direct exposure.
However, this is still not as dangerous as the temperatures found in the coldest spot on Earth today. NASA’s satellites recently measured a high mountain slope in the East Antarctic Plateau with temperatures dropping to a staggering -100 degrees Celsius during winter nights. This is not only the lowest temperature ever recorded on the planet but also the potential coldest it can get.
Scientists analyzed satellite data collected from 2004 to 2016 during the dark winter months of July and August.
As you can imagine, exposure to such temperatures without special equipment, even for just a few seconds, can be fatal. For instance, according to data from the National Weather Service, a human body exposed to -70 degrees Celsius can freeze within less than two minutes.
This high mountain range of the East Antarctic Plateau has held the record for “the coldest place on Earth” since 2013, when NASA satellites first recorded temperatures there. And it is becoming increasingly colder.
In 2013, the lowest temperature recorded was -93 degrees Celsius, but it has now dropped to -100 degrees Celsius.
Recent data have been adjusted based on reports from ground weather stations, combined with the dry state of the atmosphere. New calculations suggest that drier air could cause temperatures to drop even further, by about 5 degrees Celsius.
The temperatures at the coldest place on Earth are significantly lower than those found in some areas on Mars—the planet that is much farther from the Sun than Earth. This red planet has an average temperature of -61.7 degrees Celsius. However, at its poles, temperatures can drop to -140 degrees Celsius during winter months.
