The Klinck Research Station In Greenland
Royal Meteorological SocietyKlinck Research Station as photographed during a maintenance check in 1994.
Nestled high atop the Greenland Ice Sheet, the Klinck Research Station is a remote automatic weather station situated at an elevation of approximately 10,170 feet above sea level. It is located within the Arctic Circle, where it endures some of the planet’s most extreme cold.
On Dec. 22, 1991, Klinck made meteorological history by recording a bone-chilling temperature of negative 93.3 degrees Fahrenheit, the coldest temperature ever documented in the Northern Hemisphere. This remarkable finding remained hidden in the data logs for nearly three decades, however, until climate researchers unearthed it, leading to its official recognition by the World Meteorological Organization in 2020.
The frigid conditions at Klinck can be attributed to a combination of factors. Like the Eastern Antarctic Plateau, the station’s high elevation means the atmosphere around it is thinner, resulting in lower temperatures. Likewise, during periods of clear skies and minimal wind, the surface can radiate heat away efficiently, causing temperatures to plummet. These calm and clear conditions are ideal for the formation of extremely cold air masses.
The Klinck Research Station was part of the Greenland Climate Network (GC-Net), a series of automatic weather stations established to monitor the island’s climate dynamics. Despite only being in operation for a few short years before it was decommissioned and removed in 1994, the data gathered at Klinck — particularly the record-breaking low temperature that has earned it the title of one of Earth’s coldest places — proved invaluable for climate researchers.
