consistent global data set. Neither the models nor the data are perfect, so these maps may differ from other estimates of surface temperatures; in particular, most Arctic climatologies show temperatures over the central Arctic Ocean in July averaging just below freezing, a few degrees lower than these maps show (USSR, 1985). An earlier climatology of temperatures in the Arctic, based entirely on available data, is shown in this map from the CIA Polar Regions Atlas. Record low temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere The World Meteorological Organization has recognized in 2020 a temperature of - 69.6°C (-93.3°F) measured near the topographic summit of the Greenland Ice Sheet on 22 December 1991, as the lowest in the Northern Hemisphere. The record was measured at an automatic weather station and was uncovered after nearly 30 years. Among the coldest location in the Northern Hemisphere is also the interior of Russia's Far East, in the upper-right quadrant of the maps. This is due to the region's continental climate, far from the moderating influence of the ocean, and to the valleys in the region that can trap cold, dense air and create strong temperature inversions, where the temperature increases, rather than decreases, with height. The lowest officially recorded temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere is which occurred in Oymyakon on 6 February 1933, as well as −67.8 °C (−90.0 °F) in Verkhoyansk on 5 and 7 February 1892, respectively. However, this region is not part of the Arctic because its continental climate also allows it to have warm summers, with an average July temperature of . In the figure below showing station climatologies, the plot for Yakutsk is representative of this part of the Far East; Yakutsk has a slightly less extreme climate than Verkhoyansk. Arctic Basin The Arctic Basin is typically covered by sea ice year round, which strongly influences its summer temperatures. It also experiences the longest period without sunlight of any part of the Arctic, and the longest period of continuous sunlight, though the frequent cloudiness in summer reduces the importance of this solar radiation. Despite its location centered on the North Pole, and the long period of darkness this brings, this is not the coldest part of the Arctic. In winter, the heat transferred from the water through cracks in the ice and areas of open water helps to moderate the climate some, keeping average winter temperatures around . Minimum temperatures in