What do you think it’s like to live in the coldest place on Earth?
People may think that the coldest livable place is on the icecaps but in reality, it’s that span of land that includes Siberia and Alaska.
And Siberian winters are very cold.
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Sakha, or Yakutia, is the largest republic in Russia and it’s home to roughly 1 million people.
The large swath of land is covered in ice and snow, and it is considered one of the coldest places on Earth.
So how does one live in a place where you can literally freeze a bottle of beer outside your house?
Maria is here to show us.
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Content creator Maria Solko shows her viewers a glimpse of what it’s like to live at -44 degrees Celsius or -111 degrees Fahrenheit.
The remoteness of the place made the lives of the people living in Yakutia quite a mystery.
Thanks to the internet, however, people can now live vicariously through Solko’s lenses.
In the video, she showed what it took for them to heat her parents’ house.
The house is made of wood.
The type of wood?
It comes from a local tree called “Tiit” or Siberian Larch.
Wooden houses are good in cold places as they are good insulators.
In the business of keeping the heat in, which is important in a place like Yakutia, it is important to seal off places where heat can leak out or where cold wind can seep in.
That’s where Oakum comes in.
To make sure that their house is airtight, Solko’s family sealed the gaps between the wood with a material called oakum.
Oakum is a kind of loose fiber that’s used to make rope.
They bundle the fiber and wedge it between the gaps of the wooden planks.
Gas plays a part.
The main work of heating is done by the house’s gas system.
In their area of the world, the government provides gas services to the residents to make sure that everyone has a supply.
The house is connected to the main line by a small service pipe right outside. The pipe then goes inside the house and through a consumption gauge.
The gauge is then connected to the main stove where the gas continuously fuels a steady fire.
The stove is then connected to different radiators around the house.
Their family has radiators for almost every room.
The second floor is different.
The second floor of the house, however, doesn’t have a heating system.
Instead, it relies on the warmth of the floor which, in turn, is heated by the first level of the house.
They even have 3-paned windows to make sure the heat stays in.
The house has its heater on for 9 months of the year, from September to May.
Through these months, their gas bills go up to a whopping $80 per month.
The video has millions of views.
We can only assume that these are curious people who just want to know what it’s like to live in one of the harshest environments the world has to offer.
It must’ve been difficult to imagine how life in Yakutia was before modern utilities, but Solko also showed how people have adapted, endured, and lasted through the years.
See how Maria’s family stays warm in one of the coldest places on earth in the video below!
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