Western Siberia is currently stuck in a mini Ice Age as temperatures plummeted to nearly -80 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking all previous cold records. And meteorologists say that even icier weather is coming. Temps tumbled to -62 degrees Celsius (-79.6°F) at the Bolshoe Olkhovskoe oilfield in the Khanti-Mansi region this week. And the Kazym village in the Beloyarsky district showed a biting -58 degrees C (-72.4°F).
In the province of Nadym, the bone-shattering cold pushed past the -50 degrees C (-58°F) mark, forcing schools to shut down. In provinces like Yakutia, schools stayed open despite a bone-chilling -52 degrees C (-61.6°F). While these arctic temperatures are commonplace in eastern Siberia, it rarely gets this frigid in the west.
The glacial weather has frozen vehicles’ fuel lines and batteries, forcing people to take taxis. And even that wasn’t a foolproof method of getting to work because many of the cabs wouldn’t start either. With demand outpacing supply, the price of a cab ride tripled during the deep freeze.
The Nizhnevartovsk airport had to cancel some flights because of frigid conditions, and commuter buses were taken offline. Police issued warnings that drivers should stay at home and not attempt any long-distance or local trips. In Surgut and Shanty-Mansiysk, flights were also cancelled or delayed.
While folks in the U.S. complain about polar vortexes, locals have a different take on the frigid #Environment: learn to like it. One woman was seen bicycling at -43-degree C (-45.4°F). Hardier locals took to deep diving into ice holes in Urai and Nizhnevartovsk, and others were seen pouring cold water over themselves.
Throughout western Siberia people were posting videos on YouTube and social media showing just how cold it had gotten.
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