There are 365 days in a year. Out of the 365 days, one city is covered with snow for about 270 days. In a year, there are snow storms for around 120 days. That means on an average, one in three days the city is having snow storms. How the people of the city live? What is the name of the city?

Ø  The city is Norilsk. It is in the Siberian region of Russia within the Arctic Circle.

Ø  It is the coldest city in the world outside of Antarctica.

Ø  The annual average temperature of Norilsk is -9 degree Celsius. During summer month (only one month of summer is there) the temperature raises to 14-15 degree Celsius.

Ø  This is a mining city.

Ø  Norilsk is having a population of 175,000 inhabitants.

Ø  Sun is not to be seen during 250 days in a year.

Ø  Norilsk is having the largest nickel deposits. The city was founded during 1935 for the mining of nickel. The raw nickel is extracted and purified in the factories in the city. That is why this city is a very much polluted city.

Ø  Chills combined with pollution means visibility is very low. Trees are also scarce. The city itself lies in the Siberian plains. Much of the surrounding area is treeless tundra.

Ø  Roads are covered with snow and hence, people cannot travel too far.

Ø  Here it is common to have midnight sun in some days. Normally, the midnight sun can be seen from 21^st May to 24^th July every year (around 65 days).

Ø  Similarly, in some days, there are polar nights, i.e., there is no light and it is pitch dark during night and day. The polar nights approximately start from 30^th November and stretch up to 13^th January every year (around 45 day).

Ø  Many people argue that Yakutsk, another Siberian city, is the coolest city in the world. But if we compare average temperature during the year, Norilsk has the lowest average temperature in the world.

Tourist attractions:

Norilsk has a city museum and art gallery. There is the Norilsk Polar Drama Theatre. There is also a zoo. Further, there is a cultural centre, a sports and entertainment complex and arena, and many monuments and historical buildings. There is also the Lenin monument. There is Nurd Kamal, the world’s northernmost mosque. There is also Norilsk Golgotha, which is a memorial to Gulag prisoners who laboured at Norilsk. It is said that many prisoners were forced to labour in the mines during 1935 to 1956. Around 17,000 were said to be dead under the conditions of forced labour, starvation and intense cold.

How to reach

The city is served by Norilsk Alykel Airport and Norilsk Valek Airfield. There is a freight-only railway, the Norilsk railway between Norilsk and the port of Dudinka. There is a road network around Norilsk (such as the A-382 which links to Dudinka and Norilsk Alykel Airport), but no road or railway to the rest of Russia. In essence, Norilsk and Dudinka function like an island. Freight transport is by boat on the Arctic Ocean or on the Yenisei River.