Cows in the world’s coldest inhabited place have to wear mouton bras for outdoor walks

A large triangular bra has to be worn by cows living in Oymyakon, Yakutia, also known as The Pole of Cold on days when temperature gets below -30C. 

When do local cows stop wondering outdoors to get a drink of icy water from a hole that has to be cut in thick ice? 

They don’t really; possibly the only exception can be made for days when it gets colder than -60C. 

‘I am a hunter, my family have five cows, they are our breadwinners.

'They spend winters in a shed, but every day they go outside even if the air temperature is -60C’, says Nikolay Atlasov, in his 70s, who was born and bred in Oymyakon. 

Bras are made from a large triangle of warm fabric with hare fur sewn onto it, or from old mouton coats - hoods are usually a good fit - and are fixed with three straps, two across the body in the ‘waist’ area, and one under the tail. 

This helps protect tender skin and saves up the milk, the locals say.

The lowest officially recorded temperature in Oymyakon, Yakutia was minus 67.7 °C (minus 89.9 °F) in 1933, but locals say an earlier reading was minus 71.2 °C (minus 96.2 °F) in January 1924. 

Primary age children (aged 7 to 10) in Oymyakon continue going to school until air temperature is above -52C.

The school closes when it plummets to -56C.