6 Most Inhospitable Places Around The World

We tend to take our surroundings for granted. You're probably reading this in relative comfort - you don't need to wear breathing apparatus, you're within a few steps of a cold drink and you aren't at the beck and call of a totalitarian regime bent on oppressing its population. We have drawn up a list of the most horrendous places to live, in order from dreadful to impossible. We have nothing but respect for the hardy human beings who make their homes in the most brutal places on Earth.

# Vozrozhdeniya Island, Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan

Where is it? In the Aral Sea, an area drained by mismanaged Soviet irrigation plans. The island is now a sort of peninsular, shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
What can I see there? An abandoned settlement in an arid, lifeless landscape. The drying of the Aral Sea (arguably the worst environmental disaster in the history of humankind) left countless boats high and dry. Their skeletal remains are visible in the middle of what is now a desert.

# Baku, Azerbijan

What can I see there? There are some memorials to people who lost their lives in the race riots here.
What's so bad about it? It's one of the most polluted places on Earth. It was the hub of Soviet industry and petrochemical research, and has the health problems to prove it - cancer rates are 50% higher than average here, and birth defects are commonplace. In the last two decades, the government of Azerbaijan has made many efforts to solve environmental problems.

# Darfur, Sudan

What can I see there? A vast, geologically diverse landscape about the size of Spain.
What's so bad about it? Relentless conflict spanning more than half a century has resulted in enormous loss of life and millions of refugees. Since 2003 alone, more than 300,000 civilians have been killed and nearly 3m people have been 'displaced' - that is, their homes burned down by the Janjaweed. The refugee camps are among the most dangerous places on Earth in terms of rape and physical violence.

# Norilsk, Russia

Where is it? The northernmost city in Siberia.
What can I see there? An absence of trees due to relentless pollution.
What's so bad about it? The pollution. The area is home to nickel ore smelting, and produces 1% of the whole planet's sulphur dioxide emissions. There are no trees living within 48km of one of the main smelters, due partly to toxic rain from the four million tons of metals and poisons released into the air every year.
History. Founded in 1920, but rose to prominence as the centre of the Norillag labour camp in 1935. It was host to the Norilsk uprising, the first significant revolt in a gulag.

# Dallol, Ethiopia

Where is it? The Afar region of Ethiopia
What's so bad about it? The perishing heat. Dallol holds the record for the highest average temperature ever recorded at an inhabited part of the globe (34°c over the course of a year).
History. A railway ran from Dallol to Eritrea in 1918 and potash was mined in the area. Now, the area is mined for table salt instead.

# Chernobyl, Ukraine

What can I see there? An abandoned nuclear power station and some very interesting wildlife.
What's so bad about it? he radioactivity, the spiralling cancer rates, the deformed children, the sense of decay and the lingering reminders that some of the city's inhabitants didn't get out in time. The whole place is a grim reminder of the consequences of human error.
History. The city of Chernobyl had a rich religious history, and started life as a hunting lodge in 1193.