Quartz

10 of the coldest — and snowiest — cities in the world

From deep freezes to cities buried under snow, these ten places rank among the coldest and snowiest on Earth

ByHaley Chamberlain

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Wintertime weather isn't a monolith. Cold and snow play different games this time of year depending on geography, altitude, and how the atmosphere decides to behave.

Some cities spend winter months locked in a deep freeze, where tongues can stick to flagpoles and machinery needs coaxing to start. Other cities disappear under relentless snowfall that redraws streets, buries buildings, and turns daily commutes into a logistical exercise.

The point is not to crown a winner in wintry endurance. Instead, this list of especially cold and frosty cities reflects how different forms of winter weather take hold around the world. One city may be colder but comparatively dry. Another may be warmer yet buried under snow. What unites these places is resilience.

Here are 10 of the coldest – and snowiest – cities in the world.

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Yakutsk pushes urban cold to its absolute limit

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AccuWeather shows Yakutsk, Russia, averaging January temperatures near −40°F, placing it among the coldest permanently inhabited cities on Earth.

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Winnipeg’s winters turn cold into a civic condition

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A review by U.S. News points to Winnipeg’s inland location as a key reason for its long stretches of extreme winter cold.

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Aomori City leads the world in annual snowfall

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AccuWeather identifies Aomori City, Japan, as averaging more than 300 inches of snow each year.

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Yellowknife operates at the edge of the Arctic climate

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U.S. News highlights how Yellowknife’s latitude produces prolonged darkness and persistent subzero winter temperatures.

5 / 11

Sapporo builds winter into its urban design

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AccuWeather says Sapporo, Japan, receives close to 200 inches of snow annually.

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Harbin residents feel northern China’s winter extremes

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U.S. News places Harbin among cities known for long, severe winters and sustained cold.

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Toyama’s snowfall piles up

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Annual totals tracked in AccuWeather’s list show Toyama, Japan, receiving more than 140 inches of snow in an average year.

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Dudinka sits inside Siberia’s cold core

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A profile from U.S. News notes Dudinka’s sustained winter cold as a defining feature of life in northern Siberia.

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St. John’s pairs coastal storms with persistent snowfall

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AccuWeather shows St. John’s, Canada, averaging more than 130 inches of snow annually.

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Saguenay closes the list with snow as infrastructure

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Snowfall measurements compiled by AccuWeather place Saguenay, Canada, among the snowiest major cities in the world.

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The coldest — and snowiest — cities in America

From Fairbanks to Syracuse, here are the U.S. cities that face the most extreme cold and snowfall.