--- title: "How long can you survive in extreme cold?" description: "Hours in still air with dry clothing; under an hour in wind at -30 °C — and people have survived core temperatures near 12 °C. What actually happens physiologically," url: https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/extreme-cold/ site: "At One Place" --- # How long can you survive in extreme cold? **How long can you survive in extreme cold?: Hours in still air with dry clothing; under an hour in wind at -30 °C — and people have survived core temperatures near 12 °C.** Minutes to hours depending on wind, wetness and clothing Air is a poor conductor of heat, so still, dry cold is survivable for far longer than most people expect — the enemies are wind and water. Wind chill at -30 °C with a strong wind can freeze exposed skin in under ten minutes, and wet clothing loses most of its insulating value and can shorten survival time by a factor of several. Hypothermia progresses through recognisable stages: shivering and clumsiness below a core temperature of 35 °C, confusion and loss of shivering below 32 °C, and unconsciousness with a barely detectable pulse below 28 °C. Cold has one strange property: it slows metabolism so much that people have been resuscitated from core temperatures that would otherwise be fatal, including a documented case at 13.7 °C after a skiing accident and a young child at 11.8 °C. This is why cold-water and avalanche casualties are not declared dead until they have been rewarmed. ## What happens, in order | When | What | | --- | --- | | Core 35 °C | Mild hypothermia: shivering, poor coordination, slurred speech | | Core 32-35 °C | Moderate: confusion, apathy, shivering may stop | | Core below 28 °C | Severe: unconsciousness, very slow pulse and breathing | | Rewarming | Recovery has been documented from core temperatures below 14 °C | ## What changes the figure - Dry clothing and a wind barrier matter more than total thickness - Alcohol feels warming and actively accelerates heat loss by dilating skin vessels - Insulation from the ground prevents a large share of conductive loss > Physiology, not instruction. Every figure here is a population range under particular conditions, and individual variation is large — temperature, exertion, fitness and health move all of them substantially. Nothing on this page is medical advice. ## Conditions - [Can you survive being struck by lightning?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/lightning-strike/) — Usually, yes — around nine in ten people struck by lightning survive, though many are left with lasting injuries. - [How long can you survive in freezing water?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/freezing-water/) — Around an hour before unconsciousness in water near 0 °C — but the first minute is the one that kills most people. - [What happens to your body in a vacuum?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/vacuum/) — You do not explode. Consciousness goes in about fifteen seconds from oxygen leaving the blood. - [How long can you survive in extreme heat?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/extreme-heat/) — It depends on humidity more than temperature — once the wet-bulb temperature reaches about 35 °C, sweating cannot cool you at all. - [How much radiation can a human survive?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/radiation/) — Below about 1 sievert most people recover; around 4.5 sieverts kills roughly half; above 8 sieverts survival is very rare. - [How long can you survive carbon monoxide exposure?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/carbon-monoxide/) — Hours at low concentrations, minutes at high ones — and it has no smell, colour or taste to warn you. - [How long can you survive in a house fire?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/fire-smoke/) — Around three minutes in a modern room before flashover, and smoke rather than flame is what kills most people. - [How loud does a sound have to be to kill you?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/extreme-noise/) — Sound alone cannot exceed about 194 dB in air — beyond that it is a blast wave, and blast is what causes injury. - [How deep can a human go before pressure kills them?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/high-pressure-depth/) — About 200 metres on a single breath, around 60-70 metres on air, and roughly 500-700 metres in a saturation chamber. - [How much g-force can a human survive?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/g-force/) — About 4-6 g sustained before blacking out, 9 g in a pressure suit, and over 100 g briefly in a crash. - [How much electricity can a human survive?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/electric-shock/) — Current decides it, not voltage — around 100 milliamps through the chest can stop the heart. - [How long can you survive in boiling water?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/boiling-water/) — No meaningful time. Water at 100 °C causes full-thickness burns instantly, and burns over a large area are fatal. - [How long can you survive at high altitude?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/high-altitude/) — Indefinitely up to about 5,500 metres if you acclimatise. Above 8,000 metres the body only deteriorates. - [How long can you survive if an aircraft cabin decompresses?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/cabin-decompression/) — Roughly 30 to 60 seconds of useful consciousness at 35,000 feet — which is why the mask goes on before helping anyone else. ## Common questions ### How long can you survive in extreme cold? Hours in still air with dry clothing; under an hour in wind at -30 °C — and people have survived core temperatures near 12 °C. ### What changes how long? Dry clothing and a wind barrier matter more than total thickness Alcohol feels warming and actively accelerates heat loss by dilating skin vessels Insulation from the ground prevents a large share of conductive loss ## Related pages - [Can you survive being struck by lightning?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/lightning-strike/) - [How long can you survive in freezing water?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/freezing-water/) - [What happens to your body in a vacuum?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/vacuum/) - [How long can you survive in extreme heat?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/extreme-heat/) - [How much radiation can a human survive?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/radiation/) - [How long can you survive carbon monoxide exposure?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/carbon-monoxide/) - [How long can you survive in a house fire?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/fire-smoke/) - [How loud does a sound have to be to kill you?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/extreme-noise/) - [How long can you survive without water?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/without-water/) - [How long can you survive without food?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/without-food/) - [How long can you survive without air?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/without-air/) - [How long could you survive in deep space?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/deep-space/) - [How long can you survive without sleep?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/without-sleep/) - [Could you survive on Mars?](https://atoneplace.net/could-you-survive/mars/) ## Sources - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — NOAA (https://www.noaa.gov/) [Public domain (US Government)]