Spare a thought this Friday for the citizens of Yakutsk, the world's coldest city.

The 350,000 very hardy residents are used to cold temperatures in winter, with an average daily maximum of around -35°C in January. Prolonged midwinter spells of maximums in the minus 40s are also pretty common in the rapidly growing Siberian city.

But this week has tested locals' famous threshold for extreme cold, with a run of days where the mercury has fallen below -50°C.

VIDEO: BITINGLY COLD

In Yakutsk, a city in Russia’s east Siberia, 450km south of the Arctic circle, local weather services warn that temperatures could sink as low as -62°C.

“It feels like this is the coldest winter”. pic.twitter.com/dtGQOFlfv1

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) January 15, 2023

As we write this story around midday (AEDT), it's 10 am in Yakutsk, with foggy conditions and a temperature of -50°C. If locals are lucky, it should warm up to -49°C around lunchtime. Lunch in the park then!

To cope with the cold, a worker at an outdoors fish market told the world this week (in an interview that went semi-viral) that you need to "dress like a cabbage" – as in, layer up big time. As you'd imagine, all those fish at the market need no refrigeration.

Temperatures have plunged to minus 50 degrees Celsius in Yakutsk during an abnormally long cold snap in the Siberian city known as the coldest on earth. Here is how the people are adapting https://t.co/d9UgMVEv9c pic.twitter.com/sK2i8yvbbG

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 16, 2023

Remember the ice bucket challenge? The Yakutsk equivalent has long been to boil the kettle, then throw the water in the air outside and watch it instantly turn to snow.

Splashed hot water freezes instantly mid air in Russia’s northernmost city of Yakutsk that faces an extreme cold snap. Temperatures have plunged as low as -62°C in some remote areas due to icy air brought over from the Arctic pic.twitter.com/LKJtzs35Gf

— TRT World (@trtworld) January 15, 2023

Meanwhile over the other side of Russia, it's a totally different story...

In 2014, the Russian city of Sochi hosted the Winter Olympics, which is ironic because it's one of Russia's warmest places in winter. But even Sochi is having a winter warm spell by its standards this Friday, with a top of 16°C expected.

The nearby large town of Krymsk saw a top of 19.4°C on Thursday.

(1) European Warm Spell:
Another amazingly warm day in #Moldova with up to 17.7C at Bravicea (new monthly record).
The capital Chisinau beat its January monthly record again with 16.6C. (See list)

In European Turkey new record at Kırklareli with 18.9C.

In Russia 19.4C at Krymsk pic.twitter.com/uQX8p8VMOP

— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) January 19, 2023

This was just the latest high reading in parts of eastern Europe, which have seen record warmth of late.

(1) Record warmth in Eastern Europe.
Romania had its warmest January day ever with at 22.4C Turnu Magurele.
Insane 20.6C at Bucharest,monthly record smashed by 3C.
Dozens of stations destroyed their monthly record in Romania with huge margins with 29 stations above 19C ! pic.twitter.com/M5Ahq5QAKH

— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) January 18, 2023

Back in Yakutsk in Russia's northeast corner – which is just a lazy 9000 kilometres or so from Sochi in the far southwest – the good news for locals is that after a run of days when temperatures plummeted to -50°C or lower, conditions are set to moderate over the weekend and into the new week, with a spell of days in the -40s on the cards.

It'll almost feel like spring.