While extreme Arctic conditions have spared southern Canada of late, instead favoring to dip deep into Asia where Russia and even the subtropical regions of China and India continue to suffer record-breaking sub-zero temperatures, things have played out very differently in northern Canada.
Taking Kugaaruk as an example, on the morning of Tuesday, January 5 the small Nunavut hamlet located on the shore of Pelly Bay registered -47C (-52.6F) — this was a temperature among the area's coldest on record, and it also comfortably broke the previous Jan. 5 all-time low of -42C (-43.6F) set back in 1985 (solar minimum of cycle 21).
In addition to the official new record low, a staggering windchill or "feels-like" benchmark was also set.
When speaking to Yahoo News, Jaclyn Whittal, meteorologist at the Weather Network, pointed out that Kugaaruk's windchill was over -60C (-76F) early Tuesday morning, a number she said is hard to even wrap your head around.
"Windchills of minus 60 would freeze your skin in less than two minutes," said Whittal. "Think about that. It takes two minutes to order a coffee at a drive-through".
Comment: Global temp plunges 0.26C in a month: "The next ice age has just started"