The coldest air ever measured at ground level on Earth was -89.2 C (-128.6 F), recorded at the Soviet Vostok Station in Antarctica on July 21, 1983. The coldest place where people live all year is Oymyakon in northeast Siberia, where the official record low is -67.7 C (-89.9 F), set in 1933. Oymyakon sits at the bottom of a valley ringed by mountains, which traps cold air that sinks and pools there, and in winter the sun clears the hills for only a few hours a day. The village began in the 1920s as a stop for reindeer herders who brought their herds to a nearby thermal spring, and it now has under 600 residents. Its temperature range is extreme too, with a July 2010 high of 34.6 C (94.3 F), a swing of more than 100 degrees Celsius over the year.

Israeli reports also say the cabinet directed the military to prepare for a possible new attack on Iran.

Angkor, near Siem Reap in northern Cambodia, was the capital of the Khmer Empire, which ruled much of mainland Southeast Asia between roughly the 9th and 15th centuries. At its height the city spread across about 3,000 square kilometres, making it the largest pre-industrial city on Earth by area. Its growth depended on water: huge reservoirs called barays, along with canals and embankments, stored monsoon rain and carried it to rice fields. That system let farmers harvest more than once a year and fed a very large population through the dry season. The temple complex of Angkor Wat, built in the early 12th century, is the best-known monument and still stands at the heart of the park.