While the chill of the dying days of December can be felt all around the country, spare a thought for the residents of Oymyakon, Siberia. The Russian town known as 'the coldest on Earth' today sees temperatures dip as far as -38°C.

The New Zealand photographer Amos Chapple made the arduous trek across the frozen tundra to the town, and captured these incredible images of the lives the 500 residents lead while gripped by the frozen cold.

Traveling to the village usually involves a two-day drive from Yakutsk, a capital city of 300,000 people that has average winter temperatures of -34°C, making it the coldest major city in the world.

The residents of Oymyakon have adapted their lifestyles to deal with the special challenges the cold brings; there’s very little indoor plumbing due to the frozen ground, motor vehicles are stored in heated garages or must be continually left running in case they freeze over, and meat is the main food as the region cannot produce many crops.

Capturing Oymyakon on camera was not without its own difficulties. Chapple says that the weather was so cold that his lens’ focus and zoom rings would sometimes get frozen in place.

[Images: Amos Chapple]