Lowest temperature recorded on Earth

During the southern hemisphere winter on 21 July 1983, temperatures at Russia's Vostok research station in Antarctica plunged to -89.2°C (-128.6°F), which is 54°C colder than the winter average there. This is the coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth. The Vostok site in Antarctica was chosen by the Soviet Union for research with the aim of drilling deep into ancient ice. French and – later – American scientists began to participate in the deep-core activities at the site.

Even colder temperatures have been detected in the East Antarctic Plateau by satellites, registering temperatures as low as -98°C (-144°F). However, we do not yet recognize these findings because currently it is very difficult to discern at what height from the ground these temperatures were recorded; e.g., the icy ground will generally be colder than the air, so the closer to the surface you get, the lower the temperature. Further, weather-station equipment and procedures around the world are standardized to reduce distorting factors, whereas satellite-measured temperatures do not conform to these same regulations, so it’s difficult to compare results derived from the two methods.

The lowest temperature recorded in the northern hemisphere was retroactively confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization on 23 September 2020: -69.6°C (-93.3°F) was logged at Klinck Automatic Weather Station in Greenland on 22 December 1991.

The lowest temperature registered in continental Europe is -58.1°C (-72.6°F), recorded on 31 December 1978 in Ust 'Schugor, Russia.