10:42am Friday 26th February 2010
While a trip to Tenerife would currently see you enjoying pleasant temperatures of around 25°C, holidays in Luxor would treat you to a lovely 32° average, and parts of Australia an unbelievable 50°, spare a thought for those places on this planet that don't enjoy such warm winters.
Even though Scotland has recently recorded record breaking temperatures of -22°, this is still mild in comparison with some places.
Finland's capital Helsinki is currently basking in temperatures of -33°C which often see the waters of the Baltic cold enough to freeze over. One of the easiest ways to get around at this time of year is by cross country skiing, the locals here are used to using this method to get from A to B.
Over in Canada, temperatures regularly dip to -37°C. The cold weather suits the national sport here of ice hockey, however if you prefer skating, then head over to Ontario's first established UNESCO World Heritage Site at Rideau Canal, and enjoy the world's largest naturally frozen ice rink.
The city of Minsk in Belarus, just east of Russia regularly records temperatures of -40° at this time of the year, but it's a good excuse to visit the ballet, opera or famous Minsk Circus in order to keep warm. It's relatively cheap here but you'll need to take your thermals!
While most of us have heard of Mongolia, not many of us will be familiar with its capital city of Ulaanbaatar. However a trip here will see you freezing in unbelievable temperatures of -49°C, although you may be lucky enough to warm up with some camel hair clothing which the natives use to keep warm.
The cultural capital of Kazakhstan, Astara, will greet you with open arms; however there will also be temperatures of -52°C to greet you, not the weather to be trying out your Borat-style mankini, best save it for holidays in Luxor and Caribbean.
So back in the UK as we defrost our cars every morning and moan that the roads haven't been gritted properly again, take a moment to think about the people living in these frozen cities around the world and be grateful that we don't get this weather very often.
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