As someone who graduated with a geography degree, I wanted to start making more posts about weather, geography and travel combined. So in this post I wanted to look at the top 10 coldest major cities in the world. Now I want to make this a series so I would like to spread into smaller cities, towns, villages and even places on earth that are the coldest. And perhaps I’ll expand this category in the future even further. This will be a fun series on weather, geography and travel.
In this first post I’m starting with the coldest major cities in the world. Major cities are defined as a metro area for over 1 million. The city itself doesn’t have to be a million, but the surrounding area does.
Top 10 Coldest Major Cities
Using climate data I was able to get the average temperature of these major cities for the winter months. I looked at 4 months out of the year or just the winter months, so from December to March. It’s possible to make an estimate for the whole year but that would move cities up or down on the list and I just wanted to look at the coldest part of these cities months. I worked off of NOAA, Wikipedia, and other various weather websites from around the world to compile this list. If I make an error I will go back and correct my mistakes!
1. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Average Winter Temperature:
Coldest Month:
Metro Population:
2.92 F
January at -6.9 F
1,372,000
Ulaanbaatar is the coldest major city in the world with an average winter temperature of just under 3 degrees Fahrenheit. In fact, for almost half the year it barely gets above freezing. This is all due to the fact that Ulaanbaatar is a northerly city at high altitude that has no ocean near it. Siberian cold fronts come down in the winter and can keep the city near -40 F for many days on end.
Travel?
Ulaanbaatar is a jumping off point for many people traveling around Mongolia and although I’ve never been there, it’s a place I can recommend. The country encourages tourism and many go out in the countryside and spend nights in traditional yurts. Almost everybody traveling to Mongolia will have to come through Ulaanbaatar as it has the main airport. Travel is not common in the winter because the weather is so extreme, but perhaps you’re adventurous!?
2. Novosibirsk, Russia
Average Winter Temperature:
Coldest Month:
Metro Population:
8.2 F
January at 2.3 F
1,612,000
Novosibirsk is deep in Siberia, Russia, and is one of Russia’s largest cities. It is second on the coldest major cities list with a population of just over 1.6 million people. The reason Novosibirsk gets so cold is with the help of the Ural Mountains that keep the area dry and block the humid ocean winds that come from Europe. Novosibirsk is also a pretty snowy city with almost half the winter days seeing some snow.
Travel?
Novosibirsk is not known to be a travel destination, especially in the winter. Travelers may find winters rather harsh, although intense stretches of cold days are not common.
3. Astana, Kazakhstan
Average Winter Temperature:
Coldest Month:
Metro Population:
10.6 F
January at 6.4 F
1,200,000
Astana is in Kazahkstan, one of the “Stan” countries in Asia. It’s actually near Novosibirsk in an area of Kazahkstan known as a semi-arid steppe. It is the 2nd coldest capital of a country just after Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia. Astana is known for heavy winds and in winter temperatures can drop well below -20 F.
Travel?
Kazakhstan would be pretty harsh in the winter for people not adjusted to cold weather. The more popular city is the old capital, Almaty and today Astana is really just known for its unique modern buildings and as the capital of Kazakhstan. You could say that Astana is a jumping off point for the rest of the country and it’s relatively easy to get there.
4. Krasnoyarsk, Russia
Average Winter Temperature:
Coldest Month:
Metro Population:
10.7 F
January at 4.1 F
1,000,000
Krasnoyarsk is the 4th coldest major city in the world. Located in the heart of Siberia, as you’d expect Krasnoyarsk is downright cold in the winter with an average temperature of only 10.6 F. The ironic part of this is even though Krasnoyark makes this list, in Russia Krasnoyarsk is considered warmer than other smaller Russian cities across Siberia. In fact, although this city is cold in the winter, it’s actually warmer than Scandinavia in the summer. This is why I only took only winter temperatures because then Krasnoyarsk wouldn’t even make the top 10 list.
Travel?
Krasnoyarsk is located right in the heart of Siberia and not exactly a top travel destination for travelers outside of Russia. However, it has an impressive dam that some travelers take interest in and an interesting rock formation that locals seem to like to climb. As a winter destination, it’s not a city travelers go to as there really isn’t winter activities.
5. Harbin, China
Average Winter Temperature:
Coldest Month:
Metro Population:
10.8 F
January at .3 F
10,500,000
Harbin, China is China’s coldest city located in the northeastern part of the country. It is known as Ice City and for good reason, with temperatures regularly dropping below -20 F. Harbin actually sees little snow compared to others on this list, but temperatures are well below freezing for nearly half the year keeping the snow it gets.
Travel?
Harbin is a really popular winter destination, especially in China. It’s a huge city and really known for it’s architecture and foods. It’s also known for its yearly Snow and Ice Festival where artists create beautiful works from snow. Because of this event, Harbin is actually one of the top tourist destinations in China. There is also nearby skiing if you’re looking for some adventure.
6. Ürümqi, China
Average Winter Temperature:
Coldest Month:
Metro Population:
17.9 F
January at 10.2 F
3,550,000
Ürümqi is the 5th major coldest city and is located in the western part of China, in fact the most remote city in the world. It has a semi-arid climate and really doesn’t see too much snow. However given the fact that it’s at a higher elevation, and middle of the continent temperatures are quite severe in winter.
Travel?
Ürümqi is not a well-traveled city, at least by foreigners, but it has potential and is known to be ethnically much different from most other Chinese cities. It has many parks and monuments as well as a few natural sites outside the city. Like a lot of China, locals are not know to speak English too well so if you’re traveling make sure you have phrases at hand.
7. Edmonton, Canada
Average Winter Temperature:
Coldest Month:
Metro Population:
18.8 F
January at 13.3 F
1,321,000
Edmonton is Canada’s major coldest city, with an average winter of 18.8 F. Located in the middle part of Alberta, Edmonton doesn’t actually receive too much snow thanks to the big Rocky Mountains blocking most of the weather from the west. January is typically the coldest month at around 10 degrees for the daily average, but it’s not common for a couple of days to drop well below 0 F.
Travel?
Edmonton is a good travel destination and, like much of Canada, is known to have many outdoor activities, even in winter. Nearby are the Rocky Mountains, although a majority of tourists go to nearby Calgary. However, Jasper National Park is well known for many winter activities including skiing and snowboarding. There are few things to do in Edmonton itself but probably more in the summer instead of winter.
8. Ottawa, Canada
Average Winter Temperature:
Coldest Month:
Metro Population:
20.3 F
January at 13.6 F
1,323,000
Canada’s capital is in the eastern part of the country and unlike Edmonton it is known to be snowy. January is usually the coldest and snowiest month, with an average temperature of 13.6 F and nearly 20 inches of snow.
Travel?
Ottawa is a great city to travel to and very accessible. It sits between the major cities of Toronto and Montreal and has access to some national parks as well as ski resorts like Mount Tremblant. Ottawa is the capital, so there are several government buildings to view as well as national galleries. Ottawa is easy to get to as there are many direct flights from other Canadian cities and throughout the USA.
9. Montréal, Canada
Average Winter Temperature:
Coldest Month:
Metro Population:
20.8 F
January at 14.5 F
4,100,000
Montréal has nearly the same latitude as Ottawa and sits close by so it should be no surprise that it has nearly the same winter as Ottawa. Montréal is slightly warmer but barely with January only slightly warmer than Ottawa. Like Ottawa, Montréal is also much snowier than Edmonton, with nearly over 80 inches yearly.
Travel?
Montréal is one of Canada’s largest cities and is a great winter city destination. There is nearby Québec City, which is even colder than Montréal, as well as nearby ski resorts. Montréal also has its own historical part with many unique history separate from the rest of Canada. Unlike Ottawa or Edmonton, the main language here is French. There are many direct flights from Canada, the USA, and the rest of the world.
10. Minneapolis, United States
Average Winter Temperature:
Coldest Month:
Metro Population:
22.2 F
January at 15.6 F
3,600,000
The only United States’s major city in the top 10, Minneapolis, is smack dab in the middle of the United States close to the Canadian border. It should be no surprise then that it’s also one of the colder major cities in the world and on my list it ranks number 10. In January the average daily mean is 15.6 which is pretty cold for U.S. standards. Minneapolis can also see tons of snow but also it’s a little sunnier than other cities on this list.
Travel?
Minneapolis is a major city and is easy to travel during winter time. I have in fact traveled here during winter and although the city itself doesn’t offer much, the surrounding area does. For example, there is the Lake Superior region with winter cabins as well as access to skiing. National Parks are nearby offering beautiful views and unspoiled scenery. Minnesota is an underrated winter destination, and people looking for snowy, cold places should consider Minneapolis.
Major City Definition
What is a major city, though? Because if I’m going to be defining these cities and continuing with this series I’ll need to define what a major city actually is.
Now after doing some research, this is where it gets tricky. So I did a Google search on what defines a major city, and as you may guess there is no consistency. So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to define a major city as a population with over 1 million, so you’re truly big cities across the world. And then I’ll work down from there. I’ll have 5 different classifications that will look like this. It will count urban areas and include cities, towns and villages that may be in the overall urban area of a major or large city. I don’t want to see the same areas on this list over and over again.
- Major City > 1 million
- Large City > 100,000 K up to a million
- Town > 1,000 K to 100,000 k
- Village > 1 to 1,000 K
- None to the non-permanent habits around. So just places.
These are in no way the 100% real descriptions of what a major city or village is but this is how I’m describing it for this project. I’ll make sure to be clear about that every time I post.
Disclaimer
The weather changes every year and that will change the results through the years. Also I’m working off data that is given to me by countries around the world. A lot of this data is reliable and I tried to only use the results that looked reliable.
