What are the coldest MAJOR cities in the world?

[#10 Shirt]

Great topic.

I know it's nearly impossible to quantify, but I'd also be interested in seeing how much the weather/climate factors in to people's sense of identity in these places.

Here in Minnesota, it is one of the defining factors of our collective identity...a source of pride almost.

Someone brought up the notion of these cities as "beating the odds" and growing into large metropolitan centers despite the frigid climates, but I wonder if it really is a case of "beating the odds"...or simply people being conditioned to a climate...population growth from people who are from similar climates.

For example, many people (myself included) in the Mpls-St. Paul area are originally from areas (northern MN, North Dakota, etc...) that are FAR colder in the winter than the Twin Cities are. So in many cases, the Twin Cities' weather doesn't really play a role in its growth...

I imagine this is also the case in places like Moscow, Harbin, Winnipeg, etc...

[Steely Dan]

^ from living up in the twin cities for a couple years, i'd agree with you that "winter toughness" is a point of pride amongst the citizenry. it was cool to see a whole city just man-up and strap on a pair and just deal with it.



in chicago we seem to have 3 main types of winter people:

1. people that deal with winter straight-on and find a way to enjoy it whether they like it or not. - these people are cool. these are the real-deal chicagoans. my kinda town, my kinda people.

2. people who bitch about winter incessantly for several months in a row. - why the hell do you live in chicago if all you're gonna do is whine and moan about the weather ALL THE TIME? friggin move already, you are not now, nor will you ever be, a true chicagoan. winter exists to put hair on your chest, but if you can't hack it, then you can't hack it. stop pretending and leave.

3. half the people now living in phoenix. - i don't understand these people at all, but i can at least respect them for moving far, far away so that i don't have to listen to their non-stop bitching and whining.

[BnaBreaker]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

1. people that deal with winter straight-on and find a way to enjoy it whether they like it or not. - these people are cool. these are the real-deal chicagoans. my kinda town, my kinda people.

Amen to that. I try to be that person, and I am as long as I don't have to drive in winter. That's really the only thing that can make me hate the season itself. Luckily in Chicago, there are other options!

[salvius]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^ from living up in the twin cities for a couple years, i'd agree with you that "winter toughness" is a point of pride amongst the citizenry. it was cool to see a whole city just man-up and strap on a pair and just deal with it.



in chicago we seem to have 3 main types of winter people:

1. people that deal with winter straight-on and find a way to enjoy it whether they like it or not. - these people are cool. these are the real-deal chicagoans. my kinda town, my kinda people.

2. people who bitch about winter incessantly for several months in a row. - why the hell do you live in chicago if all you're gonna do is whine and moan about the weather ALL THE TIME? friggin move already, you are not now, nor will you ever be, a true chicagoan. winter exists to put hair on your chest, but if you can't hack it, then you can't hack it. stop pretending and leave.

3. half the people now living in phoenix. - i don't understand these people at all, but i can at least respect them for moving far, far away so that i don't have to listen to their non-stop bitching and whining.

Amen. Although, it can be tough. I am in the number #1 category until March hits and I realise there's another solid month of Winter; then I migrate to #2.

[Rail Claimore]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^ from living up in the twin cities for a couple years, i'd agree with you that "winter toughness" is a point of pride amongst the citizenry. it was cool to see a whole city just man-up and strap on a pair and just deal with it.



in chicago we seem to have 3 main types of winter people:

1. people that deal with winter straight-on and find a way to enjoy it whether they like it or not. - these people are cool. these are the real-deal chicagoans. my kinda town, my kinda people.

2. people who bitch about winter incessantly for several months in a row. - why the hell do you live in chicago if all you're gonna do is whine and moan about the weather ALL THE TIME? friggin move already, you are not now, nor will you ever be, a true chicagoan. winter exists to put hair on your chest, but if you can't hack it, then you can't hack it. stop pretending and leave.

3. half the people now living in phoenix. - i don't understand these people at all, but i can at least respect them for moving far, far away so that i don't have to listen to their non-stop bitching and whining.

Winter was the thing that worried me most when I moved up here. And to top that off, I moved here in the dead of January this year. My brother took me to the outlet stores in Wisconsin to get me real winter clothes. Ever since then, I've been fine. Chicago winters aren't bad if you dress for them, and this is coming from someone who doesn't exactly have much natural insulation.

And after Super Bowl weekend when it was -20 here, +20 felt quite balmy.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Winters in Chicago aren't even that bad.

[TheMeltyMan]

Its currently 12F in Montreal and I don't mind a bit. If I was suburban I would be stressed though because I'd be stuck shoveling, warming up the car, heating a giant house and wearing giant poofy jackets all day. That takes more balls. Alls I gotta do is just run underground like the outside was the surface of Mars.

Downtown Canadians spend so little time outdoors because of the expansive underground networks that we might as well be in Miami, occasionally getting another six pack from a giant walk-in fridge.

[ChunkyMonkey]

If you are trying to figure out the coldest cities, shouldn't you take the average temperature for the entire year, not just the highs in January? Some cities, Helsinki, for example have their coldest temps in February.

Some cities have colder summers. Seattle for example, have average highs in
the 60s in the summer. Its average for the entire year is 52.8, colder than NYC's 54.7 average. If you just compare Seattle's winter temps and NYC's temps it will show that Seattle is much warmer, but on average Seattle is actually colder than NYC.

[MayorOfChicago]

Originally Posted by salvius

Amen. Although, it can be tough. I am in the number #1 category until March hits and I realise there's another solid month of Winter; then I migrate to #2.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by ChunkyMonkey

If you are trying to figure out the coldest cities, shouldn't you take the average temperature for the entire year, not just the highs in January?

i wasn't interested in average annual temperatures, i just wanted to know which major cities experience the coldest winter weather, and taking the average daily high temp for the month of january (or july for southern hemisphere cities) seemed to me like a good way to indicate what a citizen who lives in on of these cities has to deal with temperature wise in the dead of winter. helsinki might experience its coldest temps in february, but the vast, VAST, VAST majority of northern cities experience their coldest temps in january. besides, helsinki ain't a major city over 3 million so it wouldn't be included on the list anyway.

Originally Posted by furrycanuck

Winters in Chicago aren't even that bad.

it's all relative. compared to a place like winnipeg, chicago's winters are pretty namby-pamby, but compared to a place like miami, they are in fact quite cold and snowy.

[Boquillas]

You know, I was thinking if a city like Yakutsk, in far eastern Russia, ever experienced a boom, we'd be looking at the coldest major city in the world by a country mile. It's current population is a little over 200,000, and the avg. January temp is -41 F! That's a lot of people to endure such a cold winter. It's the largest city in the world built on top of continuous permafrost.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakutsk

[PFloyd]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^ from living up in the twin cities for a couple years, i'd agree with you that "winter toughness" is a point of pride amongst the citizenry. it was cool to see a whole city just man-up and strap on a pair and just deal with it.



in chicago we seem to have 3 main types of winter people:

1. people that deal with winter straight-on and find a way to enjoy it whether they like it or not. - these people are cool. these are the real-deal chicagoans. my kinda town, my kinda people.

2. people who bitch about winter incessantly for several months in a row. - why the hell do you live in chicago if all you're gonna do is whine and moan about the weather ALL THE TIME? friggin move already, you are not now, nor will you ever be, a true chicagoan. winter exists to put hair on your chest, but if you can't hack it, then you can't hack it. stop pretending and leave.

3. half the people now living in phoenix. - i don't understand these people at all, but i can at least respect them for moving far, far away so that i don't have to listen to their non-stop bitching and whining.

I would say we have the same winter types in Toronto, although it seems Type 2 is by far, much larger. Type 3, since we don't have places like Phoenix in Canada (which is good ), are not that significant. I guess the militant ones just move abroad wherever that may be.
In general, Montrealers, and especially Quebecers (from Quebec City) embrace winter much more than Torontonians do.
I consider myself Type 1. I especially love the low humity of winter. However, I love a one-week Caribbean vacation to cut the length of the winter season in two. I just came back from Punta Cana-it was awesome!

[ChunkyMonkey]

OK, if the coldest winter weather is your criteria, you really should have taken the average lows, rather than highs. But, since it's your post, I'll play...

Tianjin
34F/1C

pop: 6,000,000+

http://www.chinats.com/tianjin/tianjin1769.htm

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by ChunkyMonkey

OK, if the coldest winter weather is your criteria, you really should have taken the average lows, rather than highs. But, since it's your post, I'll play...

Tianjin
34F/1C

pop: 6,000,000+

http://www.chinats.com/tianjin/tianjin1769.htm

as i already explained, average lows occur in the middle of the night when most people are sleeping. i used average highs because they are more closely in-line with what people experience during day time hours when they're out and about dealing with the weather.

but thanks for bringing tianjin to my attention, i'll get that one added.

[ChunkyMonkey]

One more for you, Changchun. Can't beat those giant Chinese cities.
Metro pop: 6,000,000+

Average high: -10C/14F

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/climate/changchun.htm

[Steely Dan]

^ awesome.

man, i'm so ignorant when it comes to chinese cities, i've honestly never even heard of that place and yet it's the second coldest major city on the planet (by my definitions obviously). information like that is exactly why i started this thread, thanks.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Boquillas

You know, I was thinking if a city like Yakutsk, in far eastern Russia, ever experienced a boom, we'd be looking at the coldest major city in the world by a country mile. It's current population is a little over 200,000, and the avg. January temp is -41 F! That's a lot of people to endure such a cold winter. It's the largest city in the world built on top of continuous permafrost.

jesus, that is a lot of people to live in such a cold, bone-chilling place. maybe i should retool this thread to have 3 different categories, like:

coldest small cities: 100,000 - 999,999 people
coldest large cities: 1,000,000 - 2,999,999 people
coldest major cities: 3,000,000 and over

[staff]

Other Chinese cities that would qualify, ie. having a population over 3 million and being really cold (as cold as, or colder than Beijing) are;

Ürümqi (Wulumuqi), Xinjiang
Changchun, Jilin
Lanzhou, Gansu
Qiqihar (Qiqiha'er), Heilongjiang <- probably the coldest "large" city (by Western standards) in China.
Anshan, Liaoning

There are probably more though, considering the underestimating of city populations in China.

[Steely Dan]

^ thanks staff, i've now added all of those to the list now as well.

when it comes to cold MAJOR cities, china certainly dominates, as should be expected i suppose given its geography and enormous population.

[brickell]

Originally Posted by PFloyd

I would say we have the same winter types in Toronto, although it seems Type 2 is by far, much larger. Type 3, since we don't have places like Phoenix in Canada (which is good ), are not that significant. I guess the militant ones just move abroad wherever that may be.

Hallendale Beach, FL? I've seen places there where French Canadian newspapers outnumber English ones.