EXPLAINED: Freezing temperature cold winter pics - The Real Truth

For many, the freezing temperatures of winter are an annual source of dread and discomfort. But for some, sub-zero temperatures are just another part of life.

For the indigenous people of the Arctic, life in freezing temperatures has been the norm for centuries. The Inuit, Yupik, and Inupiaq of the Arctic Circle have adapted to the harsh conditions by developing clothes and tools made from the materials they have at hand, such as animal hides and bone. They have also developed unique ways of cooking and hunting to survive in cold environments.In other parts of the world, people have also developed ways to cope with the cold.

In Siberia, the Yakut people have developed a unique form of yurt, called a chum, made from animal hide to provide shelter from the cold. In the Himalayas, high-altitude communities have adapted to the cold by wearing thick layers of clothing and using yak and sheep wool for blankets.

Speaking of Siberia, on January 17th, the city of Yakutsk, notoriously known for being one of the coldest places in the world where people live, saw an abnormally long cold snap. The temperatures here fell to minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit.

"You can't fight it," one resident dressed in two scarves and multiple layers of gloves, hats and hoods told Reuters when asked about the cold here. "You either adjust and dress accordingly or you suffer."

Another resident, of Yakutsk named Nurgusun Starostina, who sells frozen fish at a market without the need for a fridge or freezer, said there were no special secrets to deal with the cold. "Just dress warmly," she said. "In layers, like a cabbage!"

Although the eastern United States has had very mild weather since that late December cold blast, there is the potential for a significant pattern change toward the end of January, says Ian Livingston, a forecaster/photographer and information lead for the Capital Weather Gang. Key to this change would be the development of high pressure over western North America, which would both block storms from hitting California and potentially create a pathway for the exceptional cold in Siberia to cross into the Western Hemisphere.