Yakutsk, a remote city in Eastern Siberia along the Lena River, is the coldest city in the world. Located 1840 km away from Irkoustk and 5000 km away from Moscow, this city founded in 1632 by the Cossacks imposes upon its inhabitants an extreme way of life. And yet, despite particularly harsh conditions, Yakutsk boasts a population of 270,000, or a quarter of the entire population of Siberia. No other place on the planet experiences the temperature extreme found here: in winter, the temperatures regularly fall to minus 40° (the coldest temperature recorded was –64°C) and in summer often reaches temperatures above 30°C. Photo: January 2013. A scene in Yakutsk, Siberia, the coldest city in the world. (Photo by Steeve Iuncker/Agence VU)

Yueyaquan is a crescent-shaped lake in an oasis, 6 km south of the city of Dunhuang in Gansu Province, China. It was named Yueyaquan in the Qing Dynasty. According to measurements made in 1960, the average depth of the lake was 4 to 5 meters, with a maximum depth of 7.5 metres In the following 40 years, the depth of the lake continually declined. In the early 1990s, its area had shrunk to only 5,500 m2 with an average depth of 0.9 meter (maximum 1.3 meter). In 2006, the local government with help of the central government started to fill the lake and restore its depth; its depth and size have been growing yearly since then. The lake and the surrounding deserts are very popular with tourists, who are offered camel and 4x4 rides.

Thierry Reverdi, owner of the Dreamdoll company, adjusts the sunglasses of a silicone dream doll at their workshop in Duppigheim near Strasbourg, December 2, 2014. The realistic silicone s*x dolls can be ordered from a catalogue based on four hair and eye color models for a base price of 5,500 euros ($6,150). The dolls weigh around 40 kilos due to a lightweight aluminum structure and take a week to construct. The company of three employees produces some one hundred custom-made silicone s*x dolls a year, mainly for European customers. (Photo by Vincent Kessler/Reuters)

A Ukrainian soldier smiles in front of a city sign reading ''I Love Izium'' in Izium, Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Tuesday, September 14, 2022. Ukrainian troops piled pressure on retreating Russian forces pressing deeper into occupied territory and sending more Kremlin troops fleeing ahead of the counteroffensive that has inflicted a stunning blow on Moscow's military prestige. (Photo by Kostiantyn Liberov/AP Photo)

A pedestrian wearing a face mask to protect against coronavirus, walks in front of a mural, at a metro station in Athens, Greece, Monday, November 15, 2021. Authorities say the rate of death related to COVID-19 in Greece has reached its highest level in six months as roughly one-third of the country's population remains unvaccinated. (Photo by Thanassis Stavrakis/AP Photo)

Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret climbs during a training session in Verd, some 20 km southwest of Ljubljana, on March 27, 2024. The eight-time world champion is looking to win another gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics Games this summer, just like she did in Tokyo 2020 when the sport debuted at the Olympics. (Photo by Jure Makovec/AFP Photo)

In this photo released by the Chin Human Rights Organization, fires burn in the town of Thantlang in Myanmar's northwestern state of Chin, on Friday October 29, 2021. More than 160 buildings in the town in the northwestern Myanmar, including three churches, have been destroyed by fire caused by shelling by government troops, local media and activists reported Saturday. (Photo by Chin Human Rights Organization via AP Photo)

Surfers take to the waves at Bondi Beach on October 16, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. COVID-19 restrictions eased across NSW on Monday 11 October for fully vaccinated residents after the state passed its 70 per cent double vaccination target. (Photo by Brook Mitchell/Getty Images)