The pole of cold

A minibus drives along an ice road across the Lena river, outside Yakutsk in the Republic of Sakha, northeast Russia, Jan 19, 2013. The coldest temperatures in the northern hemisphere have been recorded in Sakha, the location of the Oymyakon valley, where according to the United Kingdom Met Office a temperature of -67.8 degrees Celsius (-90 degrees Fahrenheit) was registered in 1933. Yet despite the harsh climate, people live in the valley, and the area is equipped with schools, a post office, a bank, and even an airport runway (albeit open only in the summer). Picture taken Jan 19, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

A car drives through the snow at night near Vostochnaya meteorological station, some 500 km northeast of Yakutsk in the Republic of Sakha, northeast Russia, Jan 20, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]