Winter is slowly running out and when you complain of cold weather think of this city where the temperature reaches less than 55 degrees Celsius. There residents each year in two months living in complete darkness. We are talking about the city of Norilsk.
At the same time, Norilsk is one of the most polluted cities because of the presence of metals in the air. Because of its location, Norilsk seems even more isolated from other Arctic cities and has no land connection with the rest of the world.
402 kilometers away from the North Pole, with an average temperature of -10 degrees, Norilsk is the coldest city on earth, where living conditions are really extreme. In winter all activities take place indoors. Cold lasts from 280 to 365 days a year. Freezing temperatures, social isolation and lack of sun causes the population to have severe health problems, but also a long battle with depression. The city has more than 170,000 inhabitants. Two months of the year in this place is happening “polar night” in 24 hours and inhabitants are facing with almost complete darkness. It is forbidden bringing children out because are much more sensitive to cold, so it happens to stay for several months locked in their homes.
Norilsk has the largest reserves of nickel, copper and palladium in the world. The rich deposits of nickel in that area are responsible for one percent of total world emissions of sulfur dioxide, due to which plants cannot survive. In Norilsk there is a huge space where there is no one tree. The nearest tree has grown on 48 km away from the city. Working conditions in the mines are pretty tough, so because of that for workers is permitted 90 days vocation per year. They also retire at 45 years.
