Nick Middleton considers why people settled in these palces, how they manage to live under such difficult conditions, and why on earth they stay. Coldest: Oymyakon in Siberia where the average winter temperature is 47 degrees below zero and the air turns to ice as it hits the air. Hottest: Daloi in Ethiopia where the temperature remains at 94 degrees all year round. Wettest: Mawsynram in India where during the dry season there is a water shortage. Driest: Arica in Chile which has had 14 consecutive years without rain and the only source of water is fog collected in nets stretched across the desert.

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