Feels like -50: Parts of Canada were the coldest on the planet
Parts of Canada recorded the coldest temperatures on the planet Friday morning!
December certainly arrived with fury across Northern Canada, with blizzard conditions and extreme cold making for a dangerous start to the month.
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In fact, wind chills were into the -50s on Friday -- putting parts of the region as the coldest spot on the planet -- even challenging the frigid climate of northern Russia.
"Friday morning, temperatures for several weather stations in Northern Canada, including Eureka, Nunavut, were reporting -30s and -40s with dangerous wind chills in the low- to mid-50s," says Kelly Sonnenburg, a meteorologist at The Weather Network. "A combination of a frigid, Arctic air mass and blustery winds gusting between 50-80+ km/h led to the extreme wind chills as of Friday morning."
Extreme cold puts everyone at risk, though greater for young children, older adults, people with chronic illnesses, people working or exercising outdoors, and those without proper shelter.
Frost bite can also set in within only a few minutes with temperatures this frigid.
"Watch for cold related symptoms: shortness of breath, chest pain, muscle pain and weakness, numbness and colour change in fingers and toes," says Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) in an extreme cold warning issued for the region.
Temperatures are forecast to remain frigid into the weekend, but slightly moderating into early next week with more manageable and less dangerously cold conditions.
