Summit Camp, Greenland Plunges to -86°F, Nearly Matching Northern Hemisphere’s All-Time Cold Record
GREENLAND — The coldest place on Earth last night was Summit Camp, Greenland, where temperatures plunged to a staggering -86°F (-65.3°C) — a reading that came within striking distance of one of the most extreme cold records ever documented in the Northern Hemisphere.
The bone-chilling measurement was just 7 degrees Fahrenheit shy of matching the all-time coldest temperature ever recorded in the Northern Hemisphere, underscoring the extraordinary nature of this Arctic deep freeze.
Summit Camp at the Heart of the Freeze
Summit Camp sits atop the Greenland Ice Sheet at high elevation, making it one of the coldest routinely monitored locations in the world. Still, a drop to -86°F ranks among the most severe cold events even for this remote Arctic station.
Temperature maps show Greenland engulfed in intense purples and whites — indicating brutally cold air dominating nearly the entire ice sheet. The coldest core appears centered over the high plateau, where calm winds and radiational cooling likely allowed temperatures to crash overnight.
How Close Was This to History?
The all-time coldest temperature ever measured in the Northern Hemisphere is approximately -93°F (-69.4°C), recorded in Siberia.
At -86°F, Summit Camp came within roughly 7 degrees of that benchmark — an incredibly small margin when dealing with such extreme subzero temperatures.
To put that into perspective:
- -40°F is where Fahrenheit and Celsius meet
- -60°F is life-threatening in minutes
- -86°F approaches record-book territory
Why So Cold?
Several factors likely contributed:
- A deep Arctic air mass centered over Greenland
- Clear skies allowing strong radiational cooling
- High elevation of the Greenland Ice Sheet
- Light winds reducing atmospheric mixing
When these elements align, the Greenland interior can experience some of the coldest temperatures on the planet outside Antarctica.
Global Context
While parts of the United States have recently dealt with unusual warmth, Greenland’s interior remains locked in extreme Arctic conditions — a reminder of the sharp contrasts that can exist across the hemisphere at the same time.
Such intense cold episodes are typically confined to:
- Greenland’s ice sheet
- Interior Siberia
- Occasionally parts of northern Canada
A Brutal Night in the Arctic
At -86°F, exposed skin can freeze almost instantly. Mechanical systems struggle, and survival depends on specialized cold-weather infrastructure.
Even by Arctic standards, this was an exceptional temperature reading.
Bottom Line
Summit Camp, Greenland dropped to -86°F (-65.3°C) — making it the coldest place on Earth last night and bringing it within just 7 degrees of the Northern Hemisphere’s all-time cold record.
It was a stark and historic reminder of the raw power of Arctic winter.
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