Going to Extremes

Going to Extremes is a four-part series in which writer, presenter and Oxford geography don Nick Middleton visits the world's hottest, coldest, wettest and driest inhabited places.

He will visit Oymyakon in Siberia, where the average winter temperature is -47 degrees and 40% of the population have lost their fingers to frostbite. Next he travels to Arica in Chile where there have been fourteen consecutive years without a drop of rain and so fog is people's only source of water. From the driest to the wettest: Mawsynram in India which annually competes for the title with its neighbour Cherrapunji. Finally his journey takes him to Dalol in Ethiopia known as the 'hell hole of creation' where the temperature remains at 94 degrees year round. Here Nick will join miners who work all day with no shade, limited water and no protective clothing.

The book and series will consider how and why people live in these harsh environments. How will Nick's body react to these contrasting extremes? He will look at the geographical and meteorological conditions. He will meet local characters and discover the history of these settlements to find out how they ever became populated. Nick will look at the way both the population, and the flora and fauna, have adapted, and also considers the psychological impact. The series will also have an ecological aspect and will consider global climatic conditions.