Coldest Temperatures Ever Recorded on Earth

Source:  World Meteorological Organisation

Coldest Temperatures Ever Recorded on Earth

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Key Findings

๐Ÿ†
Vostok Station (Antarctica) records the lowest in Coldest Temperature (ยฐC) at -89.20 in 1983.
๐Ÿ“…
1893 recorded the highest combined total across all categories.

About This Dataset

Coldest Temperatures Ever Recorded on Earth
The lowest temperatures ever officially recorded at specific locations, according to World Meteorological Organisation and scientific station records. The coldest natural temperature ever recorded on Earth's surface was -89.2ยฐC at the Soviet Vostok Station in Antarctica on 21 July 1983 โ€” well below the temperature of dry ice.
Analysis

Vostok Station (Antarctica) (-89.2), Plateau Station (Antarctica) (-86.2) and Oymyakon (Russia) (-71.2) take the top three in Coldest Temperature (ยฐC) in 1983. Values run from -58.9 at the top to -89.2 at the bottom, a spread of 30.3. First and second are separated by 3, so the leader sits inside the field rather than apart from it. Below the top two the field is tightly packed: the remaining 6 run from -58.9 down to -71.2.

Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

Admin
โฌก
Data Points
8
8 categories  ยท  8 years
โ†‘
Top Value
-89.20
Vostok Station (Antarctica)
Coldest Temperature (ยฐC) ยท 1983
โ—ˆ
Metrics
1
Coldest Temperature (ยฐC)
โ—ท
Period
1892 โ€“ 1983
8 years of data

Methodology & source

Data source
World Meteorological Organisation
Coverage
8 entities ยท 1892โ€“1983 (8 years) ยท 8 observations
Measure
Coldest Temperature (ยฐC)
Last updated
6 September 2026
Compiled by
The ANYSTAT team, from the source above
How the figures are calculated
  • Values use the measure and unit named on this page. Consult the dataset description and cited source for coverage, definitions and any unit conversions. Displayed values may be rounded for readability.
  • Missing years are left empty rather than estimated โ€” no interpolation, no carrying a previous year forward.
  • Change is measured between the first and last year in which an entity actually reported a value, so a series that starts late is not penalised for the years before it existed.
  • The compound annual rate is (last รท first)^(1 รท years) โˆ’ 1, using those same two reported years.
  • Entities are ranked lowest-first, because on this measure a lower number is the better result.
  • An entity that reported nothing in the latest year is still listed โ€” it follows the ranked entities in the table rather than being dropped.

Rankings & Full Data

8 records ยท Coldest Temperature (ยฐC) ยท ranked by 1983

✓ 8 sourced
# Category 1892 1893 1924 1947 1954 1968 1971 1983 Change Source
๐Ÿฅ‡ Vostok Station (Antarctica) โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” -89.20 โ€”
๐Ÿฅˆ Plateau Station (Antarctica) โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” -86.20 โ€” โ€” โ€”
๐Ÿฅ‰ Oymyakon (Russia) โ€” โ€” -71.20 โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€”
4 Verkhoyansk (Russia) -69.80 โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€”
5 Northice (Greenland) โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” -66 โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€”
6 Snag (Canada) โ€” โ€” โ€” -63 โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€”
7 Prospect Creek (USA) โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” -62.20 โ€” โ€”
8 Fort Selkirk (Canada) โ€” -58.90 โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€” โ€”

Data Sources & References

All external sources cited in this dataset

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