In a recent post on this blog I compared temperatures to determine the coldest capital in the world, and Ulaanbaatar came out on top among the nine other capitals it was compared against.
A reader with an excellent knowledge of geography pointed out that Nuuk, Greenland should have been included in the comparison. My primary school education taught me that Greenland was a territorial possession of Denmark, but it turns out that Greenland achieved self-rule in 2009.1 As such, its capital Nuuk deserves a chance to take on Ulaanbaatar for title of “Coldest Capital.”
Once again using data collected by the World Meteorological Organization and courtesy of the Norwegian Meteorological Institute website,2 Table 1 shows annual average temperatures for each capital city in the comparison. Nuuk unseats Reykjavik in the number two spot, but it comes up one degree short of toppling Ulaanbaatar. On the annual scale Ulaanbaatar remains champion.
| Table 1. Annual Average Temperature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Capital | Country | Average (Celsius) |
| Ulaanbaatar | Mongolia | -2.4 |
| Nuuk | Greenland | -1.4 |
| Reykjavik | Iceland | 4.3 |
| Astana | Kazakhstan | 4.8 |
| Moscow | Russia | 5.0 |
| Helsinki | Finland | 5.2 |
| Oslo | Norway | 5.7 |
| Minsk | Belarus | 5.8 |
| Ottawa | Canada | 6.0 |
| Stockholm | Sweden | 7.0 |
| Bishkek | Kyrgyzstan | 10.7 |
Plotting Nuuk’s monthly average temperatures along with the other capitals shows it to be much like Reykjavik (see Graph 1 below). It is cool-to-cold year round, but it is never really that cold. Ulaanbaatar and Astana are not threatened by Nuuk’s inclusion in the comparison for the winter months, and Ottawa and Moscow hold their own. Ulaanbaatar indisputably retains its crown.
Greenland’s self-rule, while most likely good news to the Greenlandic people, is disappointing news for Mongolphiles who derive a certain level of sadistic pride from Mongolia being the least densely populated country in the world. Greenland’s 56,000 inhabitants occupy 611,484 km2 more land area than Mongolians, resoundingly delegating Mongolia to second place.3, 4, 5 Well, hmmm, I guess Mongolia can’t win them all, but Ulaanbaatar is still the coldest capital.
Footnotes
1. “Facts About Greenland”, Government of Greenland, http://uk.nanoq.gl/Emner/About/Facts.aspx, (accessed February 21, 2013).
2. See the Norwegian Meteorological Institute website weather statistics at http://www.yr.no/.
3. “Population”, Government of Greenland, http://uk.nanoq.gl/Emner/About/Population.aspx, (accessed February 21, 2013).
4. “Facts About Greenland”, Government of Greenland, http://uk.nanoq.gl/Emner/About/Facts.aspx, (accessed February 21, 2013).
5. “Mongolia”, CIA World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mg.html, (accessed February 21, 2013).