As we near the halfway mark between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, much of the Northern Hemisphere is beginning to emerge from the coldest time of the year. Gathered below, a collection of recent images show people and animals both surviving and enjoying the frigid conditions, from the Russian Far East, to China, Greece, England, Canada, and more.
Scenes From Midwinter
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![A deer looks straight toward the photographer, standing in front of snow-covered trees.]()
Read moreA red deer is seen after snowfall in Altınköy, an open-air museum in Ankara, Turkey, on January 23, 2022. #
Metin Aktas / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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![An aerial view of ancient Greek structures on a hill, covered in snow.]()
Read moreThe Parthenon is seen during heavy snowfall in Athens, Greece, on January 24, 2022. #
Alkis Konstantinidis / Reuters -
![A man races a down a snow-covered hill, seated in a monoski—a plastic shell that protects his legs, mounted on a single ski.]()
Read moreAlex Slegg of Great Britain competes in the men's sitting giant slalom race during the World Para Snow Sports Championships at Hafjell on January 19, 2022, in Lillehammer, Norway. #
Alex Livesey / Getty -
![A person takes a photograph standing in front of an enormous illuminated ice sculpture of a building.]()
Read moreA person takes photos of ice sculptures at the Harbin Ice and Snow World in Harbin, in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province, on December 28, 2021. #
AFP / Getty -
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![Several young dogs play in snow next to a man.]()
Read moreDogs play in snow in Ankara, Turkey, on January 23, 2022. #
Metin Aktas / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![A woman takes pictures of snowy trees in a park.]()
Read moreA woman takes pictures of the snowfall as she walks along the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2022. #
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters -
![A small group of horses stand together in a corral during a frigid day.]()
Read moreVisible breath rises above a small herd of horses as the temperature dropped to –76 degrees Fahrenheit (–60 degrees Celsius) in Russia's Oymyakon province on December 24, 2021. #
Semen Sivtsev / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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![Wisps of water vapor rise from a river during a cold day.]()
Read moreThe Yenisei River within the city of Krasnoyarsk never fully freezes, even in winter, due to the Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power station upstream of the river. In severe frosts, the city is covered with strong evaporation from the surface of the water. #
Alexander Manzyuk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![Several children take part in speed-skating lessons at an outdoor rink.]()
Read moreChildren take part in speed-skating lessons at an outdoor rink in Beijing, China, on January 8, 2022. #
Kevin Frayer / Getty -
![Three turkeys tussle in a snow-covered field.]()
Read moreWild turkeys tangle during a snowstorm in East Derry, New Hampshire, on January 7, 2022. #
Charles Krupa / AP -
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![A person is seen up close, their hat, scarf, and eyebrows crusted with frost.]()
Read moreA runner looks at a photographer after taking part in the world's coldest marathon at –63.4 degrees Fahrenheit (–53 degrees Celsius) near Oymyakon, the republic of Sakha, also known as Yakutia, in Russia's Far East, on January 22, 2022. Sixty-five runners took part in a full-distance or a half-marathon. #
Ivan Nikiforov / AP -
![A car, with triangular caterpillar tracks where its wheels would normally be, drags a small shack behind it on an ice road.]()
Read moreA car on tracks hauls an ice house, set up to provide shelter during ice fishing, on the Northwest Angle ice road at Lake of the Woods, between Warroad and Angle Inlet, Minnesota, on January 16, 2022. #
Kerem Yucel / AFP / Getty -
![Two young people bounce above their sled as they slide downhill.]()
Read moreAutumn Sanders (left) and Averie Abate go airborne as they sled down a hill in Solon, Ohio, on January 20, 2022. #
Tony Dejak / AP -
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![Several people are seen climbing a rock wall coated in ice.]()
Read moreAn aerial photo shows climbers on a rock wall covered with ice pillars during the Sandstone Ice Festival at Robinson Ice Park in Sandstone, Minnesota, on January 8, 2022. #
Kerem Yucel / AFP / Getty -
![A swan slips on ice.]()
Read moreA swan slips on ice at Kugulu Park in Ankara, Turkey, on January 21, 2022. #
Guven Yilmaz / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![People walk through a maze made up of walls built from blocks of ice.]()
Read moreVisitors navigate the Ice Palace Maze in Stillwater, Minnesota, on January 21, 2022. #
Kerem Yucel / AFP / Getty -
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![A man pulls up an auger after drilling a hole through ice, as water splashes up through the hole.]()
Read moreA man pulls up an auger after drilling a hole through an ice-covered channel of the Yenisei river in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, on January 25, 2022. #
Alexander Manzyuk / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![A man leaps into water with a boogie board at sunrise on a very cold day.]()
Read moreCarlos Hebert Plante dives into freezing waters with his boogie board as extreme cold weather hits Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on January 21, 2022. It was –7.6 degrees Fahrenheit (–22 degrees Celsius) as the sun was rising above the St. Lawrence river. #
Bernard Brault / Reuters -
![An aerial view of a steep snow-covered hill, topped by a watchtower and part of the Great Wall of China.]()
Read moreThe Great Wall of China is seen after a light snowfall at Jiankou, north of Beijing, on January 9, 2022. #
Greg Baker / AFP / Getty -
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![People wearing cowboy hat, chaps, and racing bibs compete in a downhill ski race.]()
Read moreProfessional rodeo cowboys and rodeo queens compete in the stampede event during the 47th Annual Cowboy Downhill on January 17, 2022, at Steamboat Ski Resort in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. #
Jason Connolly / AFP / Getty -
![Several people ride in a small sleigh pulled by two horses across a frozen lake.]()
Read morePeople take a sleigh ride on the frozen surface of Lake Cildir in Kars, Turkey, on December 30, 2021. #
Ismail Kaplan / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![A boy is seen outside with frost covering the tips of his hair.]()
Read moreA boy, whose hair and eyelashes are frozen, looks on during a cold day in Ardahan, Turkey, on January 7, 2022. #
Gunay Nuh / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
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![A deer wanders through frosty grass and mist.]()
Read moreA deer wanders through frost and mist ahead of sunrise in Bushy Park, London, England, on January 6, 2022. #
Henry Nicholls / Reuters -
![A frost-covered tree branch.]()
Read moreA frost-covered tree branch, seen in Poitiers, France, on January 15, 2022. #
Guillaume Souvant / AFP / Getty -
![A man plays with his daughter on the ice of a frozen river, with buildings visible in the background.]()
Read moreA man plays with his daughter on the ice of the Neva River in St. Petersburg, Russia, on January 11, 2022. #
Dmitri Lovetsky / AP -
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![An aerial view of a person walking on a path through a snow-covered forest.]()
Read moreAn aerial view of the Middle East Technical University forest after a snowfall, in Ankara, Turkey, on January 23, 2022. #
Evrim Aydin / Anadolu Agency / Getty
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