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Watson Lake, Yukon, at -45 C, is the coldest place in Canada

Environment Canada is confirming what Yukoners already know: it's cold outside.

"It's unbearable, it's brittle," said Grow Brodersen, who lives in Watson Lake, which was listed as the coldest place in Canada on Friday morning at -45 C.

"It's very severe."

Brodersen says Watson Lake, pop. 600, usually gets a cold snap in February, but it's unusual to have one this early in the winter.

Extreme cold alerts are in effect for Watson Lake, Faro and Ross River, Yukon. Environment Canada is warning of windchills dropping to -50.

Not everyone was put off by the extreme cold.

Yukon's capital is not getting off easy either.

While Friday saw a low of -26 C in Whitehorse, the forecast calls for -34 C on Saturday with the windchill dipping to -48.

Tourists brave the cold for an experience they can't get at home.

"It doesn't get this cold in Mexico," says Alex Cervantes, who is visiting from Mexico City with Marisol Serratos. They came to see the northern lights.

"It's really strong," says Serratos about the cold. "But you can live with it, you can go along with it. It's beautiful."

The extreme cold alerts for the Yukon are three of 139 such warnings that Environment Canada has listed for the country.