As we begin the days of afternoon temperatures that are below the freezing mark of 0 Celsius, it might warm us up a little to think about some of the coldest inhabited human settlements on earth, a number of which are in Russia such as Yakutsk. It has a population similar to Saskatoon and, with average January lows of -38.6, it is the coldest major city on earth. Norilsk, Russia, is the northernmost city in the world with a population over 100,000 and one of the coldest with an average January low of -30.9. Because of its northern location, it remains dark, 24/7, for six weeks every winter. There’s Barrow, Alaska, with average January lows of -28.6 and February is even colder. In the winter there’s no sun for 30 days which made it the perfect setting for the movie 30 Days of Night. The capital of Mongolia, Ulan Bator, has winter temperatures that vary between -36 to -40. The coldest place in the world is Vostok Station, Antarctica where in the winter the average temperature is -65 degrees. So, that should make us appreciate Saskatoon winters a bit more but if you want to escape for the last week of January, I’m told we have 2 or 3 one-week packages left on the Coffeetalk Vacation to Punta Cana. This is the final week to be able to book so get in touch with either CAA Travel office in Saskatoon today.

That’s Coffeetalk. I’m Vic Dubois.