| Term: | Cold pole |
| Definition: |
The hemispheric location which has the lowest mean annual temperature. WMOMeteoterm
The location that has the lowest annual mean temperature in its hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere the cold pole is usually placed at Verkhoiansk in Siberia (67 deg 33 min N, 133 deg 24 min E) with an annual mean temperature of -16C (3F) [January: -50C (-59F), July: 16C (60F)], but the country around Verkhoiansk is very mountainous, and lower winter temperatures are found in some of the valleys. At Oimekon, for example, the average January temperature is probably below -51C (-60F). In the Southern Hemisphere the cold pole is near 80-85S and 75-90E. International Geophysical Year stations located inland on Antarctica have recorded several temperatures well below -73C (-100F). AMSglossary GCW |