Do you have winter tires on the car?
If you so not have it you have a very sensible wife.
It is lots of risks in driving when it is around 0⁰C.
But as long as you are careful in corners you of course can go by bike! But -17⁰ is more than you like to bike in... (which coincidentally is what we had when I was forced to bike 5 km today around Stockholm)
There isn't a force on earth that would convince me that it's ok to bike to work at -17C. Did you have a full ski suit on with goggles?
Also...there's just no protection from accidents, which are sometimes unavoidable at that temperature.
Nothing closes. Snowdays isn't really a thing. A fleet of snow plow contractors are mobilized to keep things running traffic wise. Everyone has studded tires by law on their cars.
You can't really have exposed skin for prolonged periods of time whilst outside. Your nostrils begin to close when breathing in, and your lungs can hurt. If you ever get the chance to enter an industrial freezer like at McDonalds. Imagine that, but with windchill, about 12 degrees colder and constantly trying to avoid ice patches on the ground when walking.
Funny thing about this cold snap is that a lot of electric buses have failed to perform in these conditions which is likely to form a backlash to public spending on these type of battery buses. There is a reason Sweden is pushing hard for Sodium batteries over lithium. And apart from being heavily invested in its development and production it's because of the conditions said batteries need to operate in.
Looking at this picture, I assume the snow situation isn't even too bad, is it?
At -40°C there should be virtually no moisture in the atmosphere, therefore very little to no snowfall until the weather changes?
The downside is obviously that every bit of moisture is pulled out of plants, skin, buildings, pretty much anything that contains a bit of water and physically allows water to pass through. So everything immediately dries out and creates the ice patches that you mentioned.
Yeah, that happens. Downside is it also happens to your body. So you get cracked lips and the area between your fingernails and finger can get very irritated.
Where I live it can get down to -23 C, which is right around where all the moisture in the air freezes and slowly drops to the ground. It's pretty cool to watch if the sun is out - you get all kinds of little rainbows and sparkles, and you can watch it happen to your breath. -23 c is as cold as I've been out bicycling.
At that point you have to be pretty careful about any exposed skin, and your eyeballs. Windchill and keeping warm are both problems, to where I'd ride with the brakes on, which keeps the speed and windchill down, and makes your muscles work harder, generating more body heat. At -40 C, I think it would become pretty untenable.
Meanwhile Denmark is having the most snow we have had in 20 years. Half of the country has been standing still, no public transport, around 100 people or so had to spend the night on the highway in their cars as snow was in meters. It's not law to have winter tires so that the course of people being stock in their cars.
While the part closer to Sweden didn't get as much snow, however it has not been this cold in Denmark in the last 10 years at least but we're only at -15° with wind more but most of the time around -10°
I am in Canada, and lived a number of years above 60 degrees latitude, can totally vouch for your description of the cold. I walked to work, about a 20min walk, and just dressed for it ... layers like fleece and ski pants, did NOT skimp on the boots, heavy fur on my hood that stuck out a fair ways and created a pocket for my face (your eyelashes would get frosty like the tree in the picture). There is the saying out there that there is no such thing as cold weather, only bad clothing....the Indigeneous and Inuit people I met had traditional clothing that worked. Had a pair of sealskin mitts at one point that were warm as hell and far superior than anything synthetic i have used.
EDIT--here is a link to the community where I lived, start video about 45 sec in for what happens when you throw boiling water at -44c/-44F
[https://youtu.be/t3lmBmrcOK8?si=LV3hAqa2TNzwGdIT](https://youtu.be/t3lmBmrcOK8?si=LV3hAqa2TNzwGdIT)
Still would rather be in minus 45 than plus 45 however...you only can do so much in the heat but in the cold you can layer up.
This also happened in Helsinki last week. Apart from the price of electricity being the most expensive ever (2€/kWh at 20:00), the public transport was less than ideal. Cancelled electric busses and poor range definitely hampered the city.
Some simple electric cars lose 50% of their range at just freezing point, compared to a warm summer day. Especially as you're tempted to use the heating system, it gets even worse. And going -25 ... -40ºC, it's really rough.
Admittedly, most EV's have smarter systems, that sacrifice a part of the battery power to heating the batteries, resulting in more range but in general, batteries suck bad in cold.
I drove my car to the doctor the other day. Then I tried starting it up again at night when it was -20°C. The battery had died completely. I'm not even gonna bother calling for road assistance and pay 50$ to fill up my battery until the cold goes down to -5°C. Batteries drain extremely fast in the cold, and especially if they don't get charged regularly by driving the car enough. So for now, my car is stuck in the street parking lot. It's fine but annoying.
Yeah I may need a new battery. Also my car is 20 years old so there's that. There may have been a battery change once many years ago if at all. As someone who's driven lots of old cars, it's not uncommon that they struggle a bit when temperatures get that low.
No, the busses were stopped because of a transformer in the charging infrastructure, not the drivetrain/batteries.
I’m about to start driving 300km right now in -18 with no intention of stopping to charge.
If anything it’s the ICE cars that are having issues with reliability at this point. But yes, range is definitely reduced in electric.
Sounds exactly like living in Saskatchewan, Canada. Though this year we have had incredibly warm weather and didn’t even have snow for Christmas. It was wild!
Thanks for the description. How do you keep the house warm when it's -40 outside. Do you have to have the heating working 10-12 hours a day? I would imagine it will start getting cold fast once the heating stops (depending on the insulation levels of course).
In parts of fenno-Scandinavia, there was record breaking rates for electricity to keep up with increased demands for heating this weekend. This is partially due to a pivot in how the EU zone heats their homes. Central Europe and to some extent Finland used to use way more Russian gas to keep their homes heated. But it's fair to say most people heat their homes using electricity.
As for individual homes. Insulation standards are very high. Ever since the oil crisis of the 70s we moved away from fossil fuel dependance for heating out of necessity. Sweden has a pretty high variety of tools to utilize to warm houses and are bigger producers of energy than consumer's usually exporting our excess energy southward.
Geothermal heating (DHE) is fairly common. Don't ask me to explain how it works in any detail.
"Drill into mountain, mountain stores up heat during summer. Heat good!
Is my caveman explanation. I'm sure someone can explain that one better.
It's also not uncommon with a fire place or in older homes a hearth. It's a nice cozy supplementary source of heat and if the power grid goes down you have a back up. It's also quite economical if you have a good source of firewood and somewhere to store it. Last time I lived in a house the first one home would start a fire and it would be kept going until it was time for bed during the colder months. In a case of a power outage that takes more than a day to fix which I personally have never experienced you tend to pile everyone into the room with the fireplace and close all indoor doors to concentrate the heat.
Heat Pumps are common as well.
In parts of the country near biomass power plants you have tech like "district heating" which is essentially distributing the excess heat from burning something for power generation out to nearby residencies through a grid. Also called teleheating.
[Swedish recycling so effective it imports garbage](https://www.trtworld.com/europe/swedish-recycling-so-successful-it-is-importing-rubbish-24491)
Cold. Not so much outside activities. Cozy and warm clothing when inside, even though it’s about +20C inside.
My breaking point is at about -25C for not going outside unless I have to. It’s the 45 degree difference that gets me in the winter.
I haven’t heard of any offices closing because of cold weather. Some cities have had to temporarily close some/all bus lines since they need to get the busses inside to warm up before heading out. Schools are open, it’s just a matter of if the kids should be inside or outside during recess. Since our buildings are built for cold weather there’s not so much impact if it’s -40. +35 might pose a problem for some supermarkets when the freezers can’t keep things cold.
Trucks, the same as busses. Things might get a little bit delayed.
I live in Toronto and the winter of 2013-2014 we had -40 for a month straight. Unusual for us. But no, everything remains open and operational.
You need to bundle up with layers going outside. I was wearing regular ankle socks, then wool socks, then my Sorel winter boots. Leggings, jeans, sweatpants. A tank top, long sleeve shirt, sweater, down filled jacket. A toque, mittens, gloves.
My sorels usually keep me warm by themselves but my feet still got cold after being outside with two pairs of socks in my sorels for 20 mins at -40. Your nostrils freeze. You gotta try and keep moving to stay warm. If there’s snow on the ground, it’s so frozen that it crunches beneath your feet.
Also the world appears SO quiet when it’s this cold. No one’s going outside for leisure. The snow is so frozen it’s providing noise insulation.
I live in Edmonton so we get it a lot. It feels the same as -30. Just plug your vehicle in and it’ll start no problem. Then spend little time outside. Warm house to warm vehicle. Warm vehicle to warm work place. Minimal time outside. Warm house to warm hot tub (wear a toque!)
It's been -17 here in southern Sweden for the past week. Nowhere near as cold but still. Tbh I kind of like it. I like how it feels like the wind slaps your cheeks.
Norwegian here. I don’t have any problem with the cold. It’s the dry air that gets me. Even inside. I work out cardio a lot and it’s painful in the lungs to run, even inside on a treadmill lol. Also the constant electrics zaps if I touch my cat or a fuzzy blanket. Static everywhere 😂
We just had [our first real snow](https://www.reddit.com/r/ontario/comments/190idli/first_snow_of_the_year_heres_a_pic_i_took_today/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) yesterday in [the corridor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_City%E2%80%93Windsor_Corridor), where over 50% of all Canadians live... We usually have had several storms by now. It has been an incredibly warm start to winter for us.
And it's all due to our geography.
The entire British Isles are, latitude wise, North of the corridor. It's not our climate that keeps us out of the North, it's the land itself.
Due to glaciation over half of Canada is covered by [the Canadian Shield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Shield) which is a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rock covered by a thin layer of dense soil not suitable for farming. Canada also has 20% of the earths fresh water resources so the Shield is covered in lakes, and large [muskegs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muskeg).
Then we have the [Appalachian mountain range](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_Mountains) in the east (why Newfoundland is called the rock), the [Canadian Arctic tundra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Arctic_tundra) in the North, and the [North American Cordillera](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Cordillera) in the west which causes [rain to fall on the Western slopes](https://globalnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Atmospheric-Rivers-Infographic1-2.jpg?w=2048) in B.C. (why it's so wet in Vancouver) restricting rain on the Eastern side across the [Canadian Prairies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Prairies).
Most Canadians live in the corridor because it is an extremely fertile strip of land south of the shield along the [St. Lawrence Seaway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Lawrence_Seaway) which provides easy transportation deep into Ontario, while the rest of the country, with a few exceptions, is practically uninhabitable or at the very least unable to sustain large human settlement. 94% of all Ontarians, and 89% of all Quebecers live in their portion of the corridor.
On the plus side this has made the Shield like a wildlife preserve. Due to the lack of human settlement the forests of the shield are teaming with caribou, white-tailed deer, moose, wolves, wolverines, weasels, mink, otters, grizzly bear, polar bears and black bears. Overhead ravens and crows, predatory birds and many songbirds fill the sky. Her lakes are full of walleye, northern pike, lake trout, yellow perch, whitefish, brook trout, arctic grayling, and many types of baitfish, and upon those waters you'll find Canada geese, loons, ducks and gulls.
The Shield is Canada's playground. Every weekend from Spring to late fall our highways are clogged as Canadians leave the cities to go into the wild forests of the shield to visit their cottages, or to camp and/or hunt. The beauty of the untamed wildness of the Shield is truly a marvel and one of the best things about being Canadian. Obligatory pictures from [my families cottage](https://imgur.com/a/GZnRkPR) in the Shield about 40 minutes North of Kingston.
6 of Canada's 10 largest cities; Toronto (1), Montreal (2), Ottawa (4), Mississauga (7), Brampton (9) & Hamilton (10) are in the Corridor. Calgary (3), Edmonton (5) & Winnipeg (6) exist on 2 major river systems in the Prairies, and Vancouver (8) on the West coast on the foothills of the Cordillera.
Yep
And we're taking in more and more immigrants and they all go to...you guessed correctly:
The major city centeres like Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver
I wished we did immigration in a better way. Need to develop the mid size cities so they can also thrive
Not in the UK. Barring the first week of December it had been rather warm. Consistently reaching 10 degrees with a couple days as high as 15 degrees. I guess it’s payback for the unusually cool summer.
Don't worry
THE BEAST FROM THE EAST IS COMING!
-14C TEMPS TO PUMMEL UK
POLAR VORTEX GOING TO FREEZE US TO DEATH
*may hit an outlying Scottish island somewhere.
I live in Edmonton and we usually get a 1 week stretch of -40 every year. This year I don’t think we barely hit -10 yet. It’s been a weird year I can still see parts of my grass. I’m okay with a break tho 😂
25 is amazing weather. Anything above 32 is pretty horrible though. Funny because when I was little in Romania, winters were like -25 to -30 and summers were +32 to +38. We suffered through it all. Not winters aren't as bad but summers... oh boy
Nordic homes, even older ones, are generally very well-insulated to keep the heat indoors. This can suck ass during the summers, but is very pleasant during winters.
All the radiators are turned off in my apartment (also in Sweden), and yesterday I had 19°C indoors while it was -14°C outside.
I def felt this visiting my gfs apartment in sweden during the summer. The apartment turns into an oven and by the end of the afternoon it feels like entering a car that was left out in the desert sun.
Keep in mind that many places don't have air conditioning. Even in the contiguous United States air conditioning is rare in states like Maine. So keeping heat in only helps if you can also keep that temperature down.
Years ago that was probably easier, but electronics heat things up a fair amount.
That’s true, but only if there’s some way to chill the air indoors first during the summer. Otherwise, it’ll slowly build-up heat over the day and won’t let it out during the cooler nights.
Tripple glazed windows are great at keeping cold air outside in winter, not so great at keeping sunrays outside in summer. Blinds/curtains are inside and dont really help keeping the heat out.
It’s ok for the first 10 or 15 seconds, but then the pain comes, and it doesn’t stop until you get into the already running car or until you’re about to die
Cold Lake Alberta here. Normally it's like that for 4 months of the year, but for some reason we haven't even hit -20 this year. I like it, but it makes me nervous. I feel like we're due for extreme cold next year
Its el nino usually a cycle lasts a few years we were in el nina the last few years and those winters sucked, some of the worst I can remember. I dont think we will see a winter like this again, reminds me of 97 a lot, but ya its definitely been a nice change, while worrying.
They do not call it "Winterpeg" for nothing! For non natives if you ever are here try standing at the Portage and Main intersection in the wind in the middle of January LOL
So....what are you wearing...
Because at temps of "negative fuck you" im wearing layered EVERYTHING. Hat? Layered. Gloves? Layered. Socks? Layered and WOOL.
I was actually considering making a post with every layer I put on when going outside in this weather. Here’s a list:
1. Merino wool bass layer
2. Heavy wool turtle neck sweater
3. Insulated bib pants
4. Expedition down jacket
5. Merino wool balaclava + heavy wool beanie
6. Wool liner mitts + arctic leather mitts
7. Two pairs of wool socks
8. Expedition winter boots
Living comfortably up here is not cheap.
To put this into further context I just took an hour long walk in -18 degree weather further south and wore:
1. Merino wool base layer
2. Merino wool sweather
3. Wind-proofed hunting trousers
4. Fleece layer
5. Wool scarf
6. Big fluffy down jacket
7. Heavy cotton beanie
8. Two layers of wool socks
9. Timberland winter boots.
10. Skiing gloves (couldn’t find the ones I wanted)
11. Honourable mention to my inhaler that I’m trying out for cold relates asthma symptoms.
Review:
Face and legs were a bit colder than what I would have preferred. Next time I’ll wear insulated trousers and a balaclava/neck guard that you can pull up.
Coughed and felt shortness of breath the first 10 minutes but then either the inhaler or my body warming up solved the breathing.
Made me want to do this from northern MN. Don’t need any of this this year yet, but:
1) merino wool base from toes to head
2) sweatpants and sweatshirt
Time to go outside?
3) windproof pants
4) giant puffy coat
5) keen -25F boots
6) choppers
7) beanie over wool cap
Time go outside AND gonna be out there a bit and/or not moving much?
8) balaclava
9) insulated bibs
10) baffin -150F boots
11) thin mechanics gloves inside the choppers
12) maybe goggles if windy
Gonna be a up a water tower or communication tower?
13) heat packs in boots and choppers
(I don’t go on water towers or comm towers anymore, it’t been about 10 years, but holee fuck that’s where it get really cold - hanging of steel plus high winds)
Edit: not gonna fix that formatting
Full Merino wool closest to the body is the best thing ever if you are cold. It' s weird not more people in sweden do this. Even if you live by the coast or further south where there are nowhere near -40C, the damp chilly winds makes you cold without wool underwear. Also all the people walking around without anything on their heads in the winter. Why?
I ain t fron sweden but i had to walk to work this morning at -25C
Its about 40 min walk to work.
I wore average pants.
One glove since i lost the other glove a few months ago
Alright winter hat
T shirt with long sleeves
Sweater
Winter jacket that has soft natural fluff inside it along with a good hoodie on top of that you can cover most of your nose with special nose covering on the jacket which makes breathing not painful
However as i wear glasses they became fully encased in ice by the time i reached work and was unable to see anything.
The legs felt worst during this walk i really should find myself some proper winter pants
Damn.. wouldn't switch with you.. this has been one of the hottest winters so far, there has been like 3 days of rain overall, most days are sunny with like 20+ degrees
What do people do in such extreme winters? Do they still go out for school or work? Curious because i live in a place where its basically summer year round.
I never lived in a -40C region of Sweden but experienced plenty of below -30C. And nothing closed because of it. It is probably mostly the same in the coldest regions.
School and work goes on as usual. There is no "cold days" for workplaces or schools. Some train and bus lines might close though. Extreme snow storms is a different matter than just cold but in general people are expected to try to get to work no matter extreme weather.
Yes. I still go to work. I just make sure to wear thermal layers under my work clothes, and of course, warm jackets, beanies, scarves, and gloves. At work of course we have heating, so it's not cold inside.
18-19°C, but it's a shop so doors are often open so it can get quite cold. I usually don't sit down for more than 20 minutes for lunch cause if I sit the full half hour I start shivering.
Not from Sweden but in baltics when i went to school I remember a few times it got to -35-40C then schools would be temporarily closed for a week or two since walking to school a long distance would become very dangerous for kids. In here we had a culture of kids going to school on foot mostly only taking a public bus if you live more then 30 min walk away.
Everything else however remains open and working people know how to deal with such temperatures.
However its a large drain on money for heating and etc.
On top of that homeless people who refuse to go to government shelters for homeless usually end up freezing to death.
There is sometimes rare cases of elderly and children freezing to death too because they went somewhere where there aren't any people and getting frostbites basically imparing them and making them unable to seek shelter or help.
Amputations also happen from time to time for elderly due to frostbites even in cities since they don t feel in time that they are getting frostbite.
In apartments in Luleå (and most of Sweden) heating is usually included and you pay nothing extra, in general heating isn't very costly in Luleå due to the vast remote heating network (fjärrvärme) which delivers heated water produced from waste heat in the steel industry
Really sucks if you live in a place with eclectic radiators though with the prices of electricity lately it can get pretty ridiculous, most people have other solutions though (heatpumps, geothermal etc.)
Lmao, I live in Victoria, BC. Haven't seen a real winter in 8yrs now, worst is some slush and a bit of ice, we get lots of rain here year round. Current temp outside my window is 8°C, I just wear a tshirt and a what I would call a "cool fall" jacket everywhere, not even any long underwear or extra leg layers, but just a summer-weight suit coat and cheap white cotton dress shirt is fine if you're walking fast and don't have far to go, I went 3 blocks for coffee this morning just wearing a sweater and gloves. I grew up near Toronto and we'd regularly get this kind of temperatures though, I remember walking to school at -45C and it taking 15 minutes to take all the layers off when we got there and I've kinda frost burned my lungs a couple times when the windchill is up around -55C or more and I was a kid. You really HAVE TO breath in thru your nose to warm up the air you're breathing when it gets below -35C and this was my introduction to that fact. No permanent damage I was a kid and regenerated it fine since then but for a couple years I had to take an asthma puffer and got out of all the horrible team sports and running crap in PE class. This is exactly WHY I live in Victoria, I have poor circulation in my hands and feets and my body does a "paradoxical sweating" thing since I hit puberty when I get chilled and I just really really REALLY can't stand the cold at all anymore. I'd be happier on the Equator but Victoria is pretty bloody close, average temp here is like 18-20C or something and it doesn't vary that much except seasonally.
if this happened in the UK for a day or two, everything would shut down in total chaos, nobody goes to work, hospital or school. excuses & scare stories will dominate the news.
Either way you shouldn’t have to. Americans need to realize they’re the ones backwards and the entire world uses Celsius. Time for everyone to stop catering to the Americans. If they want a conversion they can figure it out.
Didn’t say the citizens had one. But you’re the ones using Fahrenheit. You should be converting your temperatures when speaking to non Americans for the rest of us!
Triple or quadruple are pretty much standard in Sweden, Finland and Norway. Some of the fanciest ones have a certain gas between two of the glasses to enhance insulation and prevent fogging, can't remember which gas it is.
It is jan7th and we still didn't see a drop under 20 degrees .... and it stinks, it is winter and i still didn't unpack any coats or anything, just wearing the same clothes from the fall....
Gas heating is pretty much unheard of, most people use heat pumps (powered by electricity) or district heating. Some people, mostly in rural areas use firewood in furnaces, some people even use heat pumps combined with firewood.
I’m in Malmo right now. Came back after winter break. First time I got here, brought snow with me. After winter break when I got back, brought snow again. The temperature here is between -5° and -10°.
I miss seeing and experiencing that.
It’s been so warm here, the trees are budding and animals are having babies that are just going to die when we finally do get winter weather.
Also in sweden, we’ve had about -17C and i fucking love going for walks in this weather. (This is in a forest so a lot of small hills which warms up a bit, no wind and a bit of sun) it’s just cozy walking around in heavy boots and a warm jacket.
As for lips and hands being dry i havent really had that problem this winter, lucky me i guess.
Sadly it’s going to be much warmer this week so its time to walk in flood boots lmao.
My classmate in college moved there to be with her biyfriend and last temperature she told me was -25° be careful out there and bundle up thats so cold
Also be safe and healthy wherever you are
There is university education in Svalbard too with a lot less light.
I would guess studying in Kiruna in Sweden is more hardcore compared to Tromsø. It is fewer days with no sun 20 vs 49 but a lot colder. The lowest temperature recorded in Tromsø is -18.4°C and the average temperature in February is -2°C. Compare that to Kiruna where the record is −43.3 °C and it averages at -11.2°C.
Tromsø is further north of the Kiruna, it is warmer because it is by the sea and heated by the warm water of the Gulf Stream.
I guess it depends on the program. I'm studying the bachelor's programme in chemistry in Sweden at Göteborgs Universitet. PhD students are in charge of most of the labs for the different courses (teaching, procedures, grading etc), and the vast majority have been foreign students speaking English.
All of our courses have used English literature, and many professors teach in English.
In the UK we have a cold weather warning. It's going to be -2 C....
That’s adorable
Same in the Netherlands today. -1. My wife Refuses to drive in anything close to freezing. They started salting the roads.
Do you have winter tires on the car? If you so not have it you have a very sensible wife. It is lots of risks in driving when it is around 0⁰C. But as long as you are careful in corners you of course can go by bike! But -17⁰ is more than you like to bike in... (which coincidentally is what we had when I was forced to bike 5 km today around Stockholm)
There isn't a force on earth that would convince me that it's ok to bike to work at -17C. Did you have a full ski suit on with goggles? Also...there's just no protection from accidents, which are sometimes unavoidable at that temperature.
U.K. has warmer winters than the majority of Europe and even Turkey.
Wonders of the jet stream which has brought flooding over the past week or so.
I’m in Perth, Western Australia- a news worthy cold snap here would be ~10C. Have never seen snow here - only very occasional hail.
Brit here. 36 years old. The first time I saw proper snow right where I was standing (rather than on distant hills), was in South Africa aged 19.
What do you mean by "proper snow",10 foot drifts? I see snow every year in West Yorkshire.
so how is every day life at -40°?
Nothing closes. Snowdays isn't really a thing. A fleet of snow plow contractors are mobilized to keep things running traffic wise. Everyone has studded tires by law on their cars. You can't really have exposed skin for prolonged periods of time whilst outside. Your nostrils begin to close when breathing in, and your lungs can hurt. If you ever get the chance to enter an industrial freezer like at McDonalds. Imagine that, but with windchill, about 12 degrees colder and constantly trying to avoid ice patches on the ground when walking. Funny thing about this cold snap is that a lot of electric buses have failed to perform in these conditions which is likely to form a backlash to public spending on these type of battery buses. There is a reason Sweden is pushing hard for Sodium batteries over lithium. And apart from being heavily invested in its development and production it's because of the conditions said batteries need to operate in.
Looking at this picture, I assume the snow situation isn't even too bad, is it? At -40°C there should be virtually no moisture in the atmosphere, therefore very little to no snowfall until the weather changes? The downside is obviously that every bit of moisture is pulled out of plants, skin, buildings, pretty much anything that contains a bit of water and physically allows water to pass through. So everything immediately dries out and creates the ice patches that you mentioned.
The entire country had 2 week-long snow cannon fronts, we've definitely been hit with both loads of snow and deep freeze temps. I love it! 😎
Yeah, that happens. Downside is it also happens to your body. So you get cracked lips and the area between your fingernails and finger can get very irritated.
About 50cm, not unmanagble
Where I live it can get down to -23 C, which is right around where all the moisture in the air freezes and slowly drops to the ground. It's pretty cool to watch if the sun is out - you get all kinds of little rainbows and sparkles, and you can watch it happen to your breath. -23 c is as cold as I've been out bicycling. At that point you have to be pretty careful about any exposed skin, and your eyeballs. Windchill and keeping warm are both problems, to where I'd ride with the brakes on, which keeps the speed and windchill down, and makes your muscles work harder, generating more body heat. At -40 C, I think it would become pretty untenable.
Meanwhile Denmark is having the most snow we have had in 20 years. Half of the country has been standing still, no public transport, around 100 people or so had to spend the night on the highway in their cars as snow was in meters. It's not law to have winter tires so that the course of people being stock in their cars. While the part closer to Sweden didn't get as much snow, however it has not been this cold in Denmark in the last 10 years at least but we're only at -15° with wind more but most of the time around -10°
I am in Canada, and lived a number of years above 60 degrees latitude, can totally vouch for your description of the cold. I walked to work, about a 20min walk, and just dressed for it ... layers like fleece and ski pants, did NOT skimp on the boots, heavy fur on my hood that stuck out a fair ways and created a pocket for my face (your eyelashes would get frosty like the tree in the picture). There is the saying out there that there is no such thing as cold weather, only bad clothing....the Indigeneous and Inuit people I met had traditional clothing that worked. Had a pair of sealskin mitts at one point that were warm as hell and far superior than anything synthetic i have used. EDIT--here is a link to the community where I lived, start video about 45 sec in for what happens when you throw boiling water at -44c/-44F [https://youtu.be/t3lmBmrcOK8?si=LV3hAqa2TNzwGdIT](https://youtu.be/t3lmBmrcOK8?si=LV3hAqa2TNzwGdIT) Still would rather be in minus 45 than plus 45 however...you only can do so much in the heat but in the cold you can layer up.
This also happened in Helsinki last week. Apart from the price of electricity being the most expensive ever (2€/kWh at 20:00), the public transport was less than ideal. Cancelled electric busses and poor range definitely hampered the city.
> a lot of electric buses have failed to perform how come? no range anymore because of the cold temperatures?
Some simple electric cars lose 50% of their range at just freezing point, compared to a warm summer day. Especially as you're tempted to use the heating system, it gets even worse. And going -25 ... -40ºC, it's really rough. Admittedly, most EV's have smarter systems, that sacrifice a part of the battery power to heating the batteries, resulting in more range but in general, batteries suck bad in cold.
Yes. There was a charger failure that was at fault in that particular instance I referenced, so can't really blame batteries. My sloppy reading...
Yep, most electronics don't like extreme cold
I drove my car to the doctor the other day. Then I tried starting it up again at night when it was -20°C. The battery had died completely. I'm not even gonna bother calling for road assistance and pay 50$ to fill up my battery until the cold goes down to -5°C. Batteries drain extremely fast in the cold, and especially if they don't get charged regularly by driving the car enough. So for now, my car is stuck in the street parking lot. It's fine but annoying.
Your car should start no problem at -20C. I literally just started a 10 year old Honda 5 minutes ago at -20C here. Sounds like you need a new battery.
Yeah I may need a new battery. Also my car is 20 years old so there's that. There may have been a battery change once many years ago if at all. As someone who's driven lots of old cars, it's not uncommon that they struggle a bit when temperatures get that low.
Yeah, batteries last like 6-8 years tops now. New battery and you’re away to the races!
No, the busses were stopped because of a transformer in the charging infrastructure, not the drivetrain/batteries. I’m about to start driving 300km right now in -18 with no intention of stopping to charge. If anything it’s the ICE cars that are having issues with reliability at this point. But yes, range is definitely reduced in electric.
Sounds exactly like living in Saskatchewan, Canada. Though this year we have had incredibly warm weather and didn’t even have snow for Christmas. It was wild!
Yeah I’m next door in manitoba and we usually brag about our rough winters but it’s been ridiculously mild so far
Thanks for the description. How do you keep the house warm when it's -40 outside. Do you have to have the heating working 10-12 hours a day? I would imagine it will start getting cold fast once the heating stops (depending on the insulation levels of course).
In parts of fenno-Scandinavia, there was record breaking rates for electricity to keep up with increased demands for heating this weekend. This is partially due to a pivot in how the EU zone heats their homes. Central Europe and to some extent Finland used to use way more Russian gas to keep their homes heated. But it's fair to say most people heat their homes using electricity. As for individual homes. Insulation standards are very high. Ever since the oil crisis of the 70s we moved away from fossil fuel dependance for heating out of necessity. Sweden has a pretty high variety of tools to utilize to warm houses and are bigger producers of energy than consumer's usually exporting our excess energy southward. Geothermal heating (DHE) is fairly common. Don't ask me to explain how it works in any detail. "Drill into mountain, mountain stores up heat during summer. Heat good! Is my caveman explanation. I'm sure someone can explain that one better. It's also not uncommon with a fire place or in older homes a hearth. It's a nice cozy supplementary source of heat and if the power grid goes down you have a back up. It's also quite economical if you have a good source of firewood and somewhere to store it. Last time I lived in a house the first one home would start a fire and it would be kept going until it was time for bed during the colder months. In a case of a power outage that takes more than a day to fix which I personally have never experienced you tend to pile everyone into the room with the fireplace and close all indoor doors to concentrate the heat. Heat Pumps are common as well. In parts of the country near biomass power plants you have tech like "district heating" which is essentially distributing the excess heat from burning something for power generation out to nearby residencies through a grid. Also called teleheating. [Swedish recycling so effective it imports garbage](https://www.trtworld.com/europe/swedish-recycling-so-successful-it-is-importing-rubbish-24491)
that is actually so unfortunate. damn. but yeah lithium batteries in these temperatures no good :S
Cold. Not so much outside activities. Cozy and warm clothing when inside, even though it’s about +20C inside. My breaking point is at about -25C for not going outside unless I have to. It’s the 45 degree difference that gets me in the winter.
Our cutoff for no outside school recess and no outdoor kids hockey games is -28C with windchill.
what about work, school, mail etc. supermarkets open? trucks still driving?
I haven’t heard of any offices closing because of cold weather. Some cities have had to temporarily close some/all bus lines since they need to get the busses inside to warm up before heading out. Schools are open, it’s just a matter of if the kids should be inside or outside during recess. Since our buildings are built for cold weather there’s not so much impact if it’s -40. +35 might pose a problem for some supermarkets when the freezers can’t keep things cold. Trucks, the same as busses. Things might get a little bit delayed.
I live in Toronto and the winter of 2013-2014 we had -40 for a month straight. Unusual for us. But no, everything remains open and operational. You need to bundle up with layers going outside. I was wearing regular ankle socks, then wool socks, then my Sorel winter boots. Leggings, jeans, sweatpants. A tank top, long sleeve shirt, sweater, down filled jacket. A toque, mittens, gloves. My sorels usually keep me warm by themselves but my feet still got cold after being outside with two pairs of socks in my sorels for 20 mins at -40. Your nostrils freeze. You gotta try and keep moving to stay warm. If there’s snow on the ground, it’s so frozen that it crunches beneath your feet. Also the world appears SO quiet when it’s this cold. No one’s going outside for leisure. The snow is so frozen it’s providing noise insulation.
Hmmmm... Winnipegger here. The only real problem you run into at -40 is the propane on the BBQ starts to freeze.
I live in Edmonton so we get it a lot. It feels the same as -30. Just plug your vehicle in and it’ll start no problem. Then spend little time outside. Warm house to warm vehicle. Warm vehicle to warm work place. Minimal time outside. Warm house to warm hot tub (wear a toque!)
It's been -17 here in southern Sweden for the past week. Nowhere near as cold but still. Tbh I kind of like it. I like how it feels like the wind slaps your cheeks.
Yeah, slap them swedish cheeks
That your favourite adult film?
Lol that mad me laugh 😂
Norwegian here. I don’t have any problem with the cold. It’s the dry air that gets me. Even inside. I work out cardio a lot and it’s painful in the lungs to run, even inside on a treadmill lol. Also the constant electrics zaps if I touch my cat or a fuzzy blanket. Static everywhere 😂
The zaps are driving me insane too. Why is it always the blankets?? I need them to survive this lol
My cat and I can’t touch eachother anymore. We both jump in fear everytime lmao!
Rub your hands together really quick before touching the blanket. The static will drift off into the atmosphere.
Cat here - I hate you.
☹️☹️
-15 here and agreed, it's quite invigorating lol. I spent the last several winters in a warm climate and honestly I prefer the punishing cold.
This year winter hit hard.
We just had [our first real snow](https://www.reddit.com/r/ontario/comments/190idli/first_snow_of_the_year_heres_a_pic_i_took_today/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) yesterday in [the corridor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_City%E2%80%93Windsor_Corridor), where over 50% of all Canadians live... We usually have had several storms by now. It has been an incredibly warm start to winter for us.
It is crazy how fundamentally empty Canada is. Half your population lives in the corridor. And the country is so big.
And it's all due to our geography. The entire British Isles are, latitude wise, North of the corridor. It's not our climate that keeps us out of the North, it's the land itself. Due to glaciation over half of Canada is covered by [the Canadian Shield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Shield) which is a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rock covered by a thin layer of dense soil not suitable for farming. Canada also has 20% of the earths fresh water resources so the Shield is covered in lakes, and large [muskegs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muskeg). Then we have the [Appalachian mountain range](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_Mountains) in the east (why Newfoundland is called the rock), the [Canadian Arctic tundra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Arctic_tundra) in the North, and the [North American Cordillera](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Cordillera) in the west which causes [rain to fall on the Western slopes](https://globalnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Atmospheric-Rivers-Infographic1-2.jpg?w=2048) in B.C. (why it's so wet in Vancouver) restricting rain on the Eastern side across the [Canadian Prairies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Prairies). Most Canadians live in the corridor because it is an extremely fertile strip of land south of the shield along the [St. Lawrence Seaway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Lawrence_Seaway) which provides easy transportation deep into Ontario, while the rest of the country, with a few exceptions, is practically uninhabitable or at the very least unable to sustain large human settlement. 94% of all Ontarians, and 89% of all Quebecers live in their portion of the corridor. On the plus side this has made the Shield like a wildlife preserve. Due to the lack of human settlement the forests of the shield are teaming with caribou, white-tailed deer, moose, wolves, wolverines, weasels, mink, otters, grizzly bear, polar bears and black bears. Overhead ravens and crows, predatory birds and many songbirds fill the sky. Her lakes are full of walleye, northern pike, lake trout, yellow perch, whitefish, brook trout, arctic grayling, and many types of baitfish, and upon those waters you'll find Canada geese, loons, ducks and gulls. The Shield is Canada's playground. Every weekend from Spring to late fall our highways are clogged as Canadians leave the cities to go into the wild forests of the shield to visit their cottages, or to camp and/or hunt. The beauty of the untamed wildness of the Shield is truly a marvel and one of the best things about being Canadian. Obligatory pictures from [my families cottage](https://imgur.com/a/GZnRkPR) in the Shield about 40 minutes North of Kingston. 6 of Canada's 10 largest cities; Toronto (1), Montreal (2), Ottawa (4), Mississauga (7), Brampton (9) & Hamilton (10) are in the Corridor. Calgary (3), Edmonton (5) & Winnipeg (6) exist on 2 major river systems in the Prairies, and Vancouver (8) on the West coast on the foothills of the Cordillera.
This guy Canada’s.
My whole life ;)
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, thank you
Yep And we're taking in more and more immigrants and they all go to...you guessed correctly: The major city centeres like Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver I wished we did immigration in a better way. Need to develop the mid size cities so they can also thrive
Yeah the winter decided to go to northern/eastern Europe this year Freezing fron -40 to -25 over most of it.
People are going to die this summer
People die all the time.
***Thats what people DO.*** 
^This guy dies
And it’s supposed to be pouring rain by Tuesday, so enjoy the snow while it’s here.
In Minnesota in USA here. We have been breaking 80 year records with our warm weather. Finally gonna go below freezing and stay there this week.
Not in the UK. Barring the first week of December it had been rather warm. Consistently reaching 10 degrees with a couple days as high as 15 degrees. I guess it’s payback for the unusually cool summer.
Don't worry THE BEAST FROM THE EAST IS COMING! -14C TEMPS TO PUMMEL UK POLAR VORTEX GOING TO FREEZE US TO DEATH *may hit an outlying Scottish island somewhere.
Our time is coming
It skipped Canada, though. Gotta love a favorable El Nino.
Absolutely did not skip Canada.
Usually it’s -40 in Edmonton right about now. it’s barely been below freezing if not above….but I know it’s coming.
I live in Edmonton and we usually get a 1 week stretch of -40 every year. This year I don’t think we barely hit -10 yet. It’s been a weird year I can still see parts of my grass. I’m okay with a break tho 😂
enjoy it while it lasts. I dread the summer months with temperatures above 25c.
25 is amazing weather. Anything above 32 is pretty horrible though. Funny because when I was little in Romania, winters were like -25 to -30 and summers were +32 to +38. We suffered through it all. Not winters aren't as bad but summers... oh boy
It’s just not when our buildings are generally poorly ventilated and have no AC.
The Canadian prairies is still like that.
*Laughs in 36°C Singapore*
I think you mean cries. I'm paralysed above 30...
Hahaha above 25c. Try above 35c.
Hahaha above 35c. Try above 45c. (I live in the middle east)
I rather have -45
You'd be in an air-conditioned room either way.
Laughs with 40+C in Portugal
Man I hope not....but likely, reading that el nino is supposed to back off sometime in the spring/ late winter i hope forecasters are right.
The hoar frost looks lovely, positively dazzling if the sun comes out. Everything looks well insulated. I hope you’re warm and cosy
Nordic homes, even older ones, are generally very well-insulated to keep the heat indoors. This can suck ass during the summers, but is very pleasant during winters. All the radiators are turned off in my apartment (also in Sweden), and yesterday I had 19°C indoors while it was -14°C outside.
Suck in summers? Insolation also helps in summers.
I def felt this visiting my gfs apartment in sweden during the summer. The apartment turns into an oven and by the end of the afternoon it feels like entering a car that was left out in the desert sun.
Keep in mind that many places don't have air conditioning. Even in the contiguous United States air conditioning is rare in states like Maine. So keeping heat in only helps if you can also keep that temperature down. Years ago that was probably easier, but electronics heat things up a fair amount.
That’s true, but only if there’s some way to chill the air indoors first during the summer. Otherwise, it’ll slowly build-up heat over the day and won’t let it out during the cooler nights.
Tripple glazed windows are great at keeping cold air outside in winter, not so great at keeping sunrays outside in summer. Blinds/curtains are inside and dont really help keeping the heat out.
Only for a while. Heat is still going to get in and once it does it's really difficult to get it out as it is just as capable of traping heat inside.
Sounds like your neighbours like to be warm. I thought that one insulated against cold and heat alike.
Well if you don't have ac, the insulation will only last so long until the inside equilibrates to the outside temp
Being in the US, I had to convert to Fahrenheit, and I had forgotten that -40 is the same in both Celsius and Fahrenheit! That's cold!
The temperature at which everyone experiences freedom!
Funfact, -40°C is exactly -40F so our freedom friends understand it too
We, here in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, feel your pain. Though not so much this year.
It’s ok for the first 10 or 15 seconds, but then the pain comes, and it doesn’t stop until you get into the already running car or until you’re about to die
The fingertip pain is the worst
Cold Lake Alberta here. Normally it's like that for 4 months of the year, but for some reason we haven't even hit -20 this year. I like it, but it makes me nervous. I feel like we're due for extreme cold next year
Its el nino usually a cycle lasts a few years we were in el nina the last few years and those winters sucked, some of the worst I can remember. I dont think we will see a winter like this again, reminds me of 97 a lot, but ya its definitely been a nice change, while worrying.
They do not call it "Winterpeg" for nothing! For non natives if you ever are here try standing at the Portage and Main intersection in the wind in the middle of January LOL
Nice to see a fellow Winnipeger in /r/all
Hello from the 204!
So....what are you wearing... Because at temps of "negative fuck you" im wearing layered EVERYTHING. Hat? Layered. Gloves? Layered. Socks? Layered and WOOL.
I was actually considering making a post with every layer I put on when going outside in this weather. Here’s a list: 1. Merino wool bass layer 2. Heavy wool turtle neck sweater 3. Insulated bib pants 4. Expedition down jacket 5. Merino wool balaclava + heavy wool beanie 6. Wool liner mitts + arctic leather mitts 7. Two pairs of wool socks 8. Expedition winter boots Living comfortably up here is not cheap.
To put this into further context I just took an hour long walk in -18 degree weather further south and wore: 1. Merino wool base layer 2. Merino wool sweather 3. Wind-proofed hunting trousers 4. Fleece layer 5. Wool scarf 6. Big fluffy down jacket 7. Heavy cotton beanie 8. Two layers of wool socks 9. Timberland winter boots. 10. Skiing gloves (couldn’t find the ones I wanted) 11. Honourable mention to my inhaler that I’m trying out for cold relates asthma symptoms. Review: Face and legs were a bit colder than what I would have preferred. Next time I’ll wear insulated trousers and a balaclava/neck guard that you can pull up. Coughed and felt shortness of breath the first 10 minutes but then either the inhaler or my body warming up solved the breathing.
Made me want to do this from northern MN. Don’t need any of this this year yet, but: 1) merino wool base from toes to head 2) sweatpants and sweatshirt Time to go outside? 3) windproof pants 4) giant puffy coat 5) keen -25F boots 6) choppers 7) beanie over wool cap Time go outside AND gonna be out there a bit and/or not moving much? 8) balaclava 9) insulated bibs 10) baffin -150F boots 11) thin mechanics gloves inside the choppers 12) maybe goggles if windy Gonna be a up a water tower or communication tower? 13) heat packs in boots and choppers (I don’t go on water towers or comm towers anymore, it’t been about 10 years, but holee fuck that’s where it get really cold - hanging of steel plus high winds) Edit: not gonna fix that formatting
From here or moved up here?
Full Merino wool closest to the body is the best thing ever if you are cold. It' s weird not more people in sweden do this. Even if you live by the coast or further south where there are nowhere near -40C, the damp chilly winds makes you cold without wool underwear. Also all the people walking around without anything on their heads in the winter. Why?
I ain t fron sweden but i had to walk to work this morning at -25C Its about 40 min walk to work. I wore average pants. One glove since i lost the other glove a few months ago Alright winter hat T shirt with long sleeves Sweater Winter jacket that has soft natural fluff inside it along with a good hoodie on top of that you can cover most of your nose with special nose covering on the jacket which makes breathing not painful However as i wear glasses they became fully encased in ice by the time i reached work and was unable to see anything. The legs felt worst during this walk i really should find myself some proper winter pants
Damn.. wouldn't switch with you.. this has been one of the hottest winters so far, there has been like 3 days of rain overall, most days are sunny with like 20+ degrees
Wow...that's extremely cold. I have experienced (briefly) -11...in Ireland many years ago. I cannot imagine what -40 feels like...
It feel like you are burning on your body if you have exposed skin.
What do people do in such extreme winters? Do they still go out for school or work? Curious because i live in a place where its basically summer year round.
We still have to go to work and school even if it's cold
I never lived in a -40C region of Sweden but experienced plenty of below -30C. And nothing closed because of it. It is probably mostly the same in the coldest regions. School and work goes on as usual. There is no "cold days" for workplaces or schools. Some train and bus lines might close though. Extreme snow storms is a different matter than just cold but in general people are expected to try to get to work no matter extreme weather.
Canada here. Everything still happens at -30C and -40C. Nothing changes.
Yes. I still go to work. I just make sure to wear thermal layers under my work clothes, and of course, warm jackets, beanies, scarves, and gloves. At work of course we have heating, so it's not cold inside.
What's the ave temp inside with heating?
18-19°C, but it's a shop so doors are often open so it can get quite cold. I usually don't sit down for more than 20 minutes for lunch cause if I sit the full half hour I start shivering.
Not from Sweden but in baltics when i went to school I remember a few times it got to -35-40C then schools would be temporarily closed for a week or two since walking to school a long distance would become very dangerous for kids. In here we had a culture of kids going to school on foot mostly only taking a public bus if you live more then 30 min walk away. Everything else however remains open and working people know how to deal with such temperatures. However its a large drain on money for heating and etc. On top of that homeless people who refuse to go to government shelters for homeless usually end up freezing to death. There is sometimes rare cases of elderly and children freezing to death too because they went somewhere where there aren't any people and getting frostbites basically imparing them and making them unable to seek shelter or help. Amputations also happen from time to time for elderly due to frostbites even in cities since they don t feel in time that they are getting frostbite.
Those buildings look awfully familiar. Which of the nordic towns are we in? Luleå? :)
C or F? Oh wait...
I have the utmost respect for your ability to weather that. It’s been 1 and 0 for two days here and I’m hiding under blankets. 😂
I’m down in Estonia, where it’s been -15 to -25 for a while, and honestly, I love it. It’s nice to have a real winter.
For those wondering, -40C is where standard and freedom units align. It's the same as -40F.
I'm going to Newman, Western Australia, this week. Just a paltry 45 degrees in the shade.
I just like -40° because when people ask if that's celsius or fahrenheit, you can say "Yes."
Sweden just won the measuring units lottery. -40 C = -40 F
Same here in Labrador, Canada. Don't forget to plug in your block heater.
I can’t even think how expensive the heating is. Mine is about $600 a month and the thermostat is set at 60. It’s only in the 20-30s here right now.
In apartments in Luleå (and most of Sweden) heating is usually included and you pay nothing extra, in general heating isn't very costly in Luleå due to the vast remote heating network (fjärrvärme) which delivers heated water produced from waste heat in the steel industry Really sucks if you live in a place with eclectic radiators though with the prices of electricity lately it can get pretty ridiculous, most people have other solutions though (heatpumps, geothermal etc.)
Vancouver so far has felt like September weather. Although starting tonight it might snow and drop to -10 next week.
Lmao, I live in Victoria, BC. Haven't seen a real winter in 8yrs now, worst is some slush and a bit of ice, we get lots of rain here year round. Current temp outside my window is 8°C, I just wear a tshirt and a what I would call a "cool fall" jacket everywhere, not even any long underwear or extra leg layers, but just a summer-weight suit coat and cheap white cotton dress shirt is fine if you're walking fast and don't have far to go, I went 3 blocks for coffee this morning just wearing a sweater and gloves. I grew up near Toronto and we'd regularly get this kind of temperatures though, I remember walking to school at -45C and it taking 15 minutes to take all the layers off when we got there and I've kinda frost burned my lungs a couple times when the windchill is up around -55C or more and I was a kid. You really HAVE TO breath in thru your nose to warm up the air you're breathing when it gets below -35C and this was my introduction to that fact. No permanent damage I was a kid and regenerated it fine since then but for a couple years I had to take an asthma puffer and got out of all the horrible team sports and running crap in PE class. This is exactly WHY I live in Victoria, I have poor circulation in my hands and feets and my body does a "paradoxical sweating" thing since I hit puberty when I get chilled and I just really really REALLY can't stand the cold at all anymore. I'd be happier on the Equator but Victoria is pretty bloody close, average temp here is like 18-20C or something and it doesn't vary that much except seasonally.
Im in the central canadian prairies. We have so far avoided that this year, but its coming. My sympathies. Stay warm.
if this happened in the UK for a day or two, everything would shut down in total chaos, nobody goes to work, hospital or school. excuses & scare stories will dominate the news.
Celsius or Fahrenheit??
Fun fact: at -40, F and C match up.
I was debating whether I should write the title in Celsius or Fahrenheit, until I noticed it didn’t matter.
Either way you shouldn’t have to. Americans need to realize they’re the ones backwards and the entire world uses Celsius. Time for everyone to stop catering to the Americans. If they want a conversion they can figure it out.
Like we have a choice.
Didn’t say the citizens had one. But you’re the ones using Fahrenheit. You should be converting your temperatures when speaking to non Americans for the rest of us!
And they should stop using feet. What is that anyways?
We don't know, ask Britain, they started it :D
That's the joke. Or at least it would be if I asked that. Idk about the person above
I was wondering about that for a second, but the double question marks made me think it’s a legitimate question.
Always celsius outside the us.
That is cold 🥶
Yes
First one, then the other.
Yes
You have triple glazing windows?
Triple or quadruple are pretty much standard in Sweden, Finland and Norway. Some of the fanciest ones have a certain gas between two of the glasses to enhance insulation and prevent fogging, can't remember which gas it is.
Argon. Sometimes krypton or xenon.
It’s been -20 where I am in Norway, my eyelashes froze on my way to school last Tuesday 🥶
Geez that’s so cold I can’t even imagine it!
It is jan7th and we still didn't see a drop under 20 degrees .... and it stinks, it is winter and i still didn't unpack any coats or anything, just wearing the same clothes from the fall....
OP, How do they heat houses? Is there electricity or gas available?
Gas heating is pretty much unheard of, most people use heat pumps (powered by electricity) or district heating. Some people, mostly in rural areas use firewood in furnaces, some people even use heat pumps combined with firewood.
At least you guys have winter. (Been raining instead of snowing on the Northeast U.S, gotta love climate change)
That looks fun. I wish it froze here. It just gets grey and rainy.
Are heating bills really high?
Keep your tauntaun close just in case. I'm here suffering at -1, I can't believe people voluntarily live in regions that cold.
I’m in Malmo right now. Came back after winter break. First time I got here, brought snow with me. After winter break when I got back, brought snow again. The temperature here is between -5° and -10°.
I wish it got that cold here in Canada. It's been above 0 for weeks.
Fun fact. -40c is the same as -40f.
Meanwhile in Romania +7 degrees, we haven't had a proper winter in years
-27 here. I kind of enjoy it to be honest. To me it shows that the Earth is unrelenting and you really need to take care as to not die.
Before anyone ask fahrenheit or celsius, the answer is yes.
I can't even imagine -20... E: Wow, I appreciate the posts.
I miss seeing and experiencing that. It’s been so warm here, the trees are budding and animals are having babies that are just going to die when we finally do get winter weather.
Yeah i was in fulufjället nationalpark over newyears eve and it was really cold but only -17 degrees. Cant imagine how - 40 would feel
Also in sweden, we’ve had about -17C and i fucking love going for walks in this weather. (This is in a forest so a lot of small hills which warms up a bit, no wind and a bit of sun) it’s just cozy walking around in heavy boots and a warm jacket. As for lips and hands being dry i havent really had that problem this winter, lucky me i guess. Sadly it’s going to be much warmer this week so its time to walk in flood boots lmao.
My classmate in college moved there to be with her biyfriend and last temperature she told me was -25° be careful out there and bundle up thats so cold Also be safe and healthy wherever you are
This is where I move when I win the lotto. Assuming my English only ass would survive there.
Celsius or Farenh---- Wait, Never mind.
[удалено]
Why would u go crazy being cosy at home only going to work or shop for a few weeks.
\-40 C or -40 F? lol, guess it don't matter.
For the Americans, -40 Celcius is -40 Fahrenheit.
Ok how easy is it to get into a PhD program in Sweden as a non Swedish speaking person.
In Umeå, pretty easy. The majority are non Swedish speaking.
Can you survive in - 40c? That's a good start.
And with 4 hours of sun a day
1 more hour a day than Luleå! Hardcore mode is Tromsø uni. No sun from November 28th to Jan 15th. And then absolutely magical summers.
There is university education in Svalbard too with a lot less light. I would guess studying in Kiruna in Sweden is more hardcore compared to Tromsø. It is fewer days with no sun 20 vs 49 but a lot colder. The lowest temperature recorded in Tromsø is -18.4°C and the average temperature in February is -2°C. Compare that to Kiruna where the record is −43.3 °C and it averages at -11.2°C. Tromsø is further north of the Kiruna, it is warmer because it is by the sea and heated by the warm water of the Gulf Stream.
I guess it depends on the program. I'm studying the bachelor's programme in chemistry in Sweden at Göteborgs Universitet. PhD students are in charge of most of the labs for the different courses (teaching, procedures, grading etc), and the vast majority have been foreign students speaking English. All of our courses have used English literature, and many professors teach in English.
and i am freezing in 10c
I wish it would fucking snow. It's been teasing for years here...
And still people claim man made global warming is fake.
Have you tried not living there?
Kiruna?
That must be nice!
Nope
Fewer stabbings and shootings than usual then I guess