It was founded in 1923[2] as Nezametny (Незаме́тный), after discovery of rich gold deposits. It was granted town status and renamed in 1939.[citation needed] During World War II, an airfield was built here for the Alaska-Siberian (ALSIB) air route used to ferry American Lend-Lease aircraft to the Eastern Front.[9]
Aldan has the typical eastern Siberian subarctic climate (KöppenDfc) though it is affected by the Pacific Ocean more than localities in the lower Lenabasin, which gives it much heavier rainfall during the summer than most of the republic, as well as a little more snowfall and rather less extreme winter temperatures – though still extremely cold for the latitude and as much as 10 °C or 18 °F colder than settlements actually on the Okhotsk coast. In spite of the less extreme winters vis-à-vis more northerly parts of Sakha, Aldan has never seen any day above freezing from 22 November to 7 March inclusive.[when?] Although winters are somewhat less extreme than Yakutsk, summers are actually somewhat cooler, and cloudier, than those northerly areas.
The coldest temperature recorded in Aldan since the weather station was opened in 1937 has been −50.0 °C or −58.0 °F on 20 January 2023 and the hottest 36.5 °C or 97.7 °F on 3 July 2021. February 1969, with a mean temperature of −33.6 °C or −28.5 °F, has been the coldest month on record, shading the preceding January which averaged −33.4 °C or −28.1 °F. The hottest month has been July 1941 which averaged 20.7 °C or 69.3 °F, the wettest August 2006 with 269 millimetres or 10.59 inches of rain, and the driest March 1937 with only 2 millimetres or 0.08 inches of water equivalent.
Climate data for Aldan (1991–2020, extremes 1926–present)
Official website of the Sakha Republic. Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Divisions of the Sakha Republic. Aldansky DistrictArchived April 25, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. (in Russian)
Государственное Собрание (Ил Тумэн) Республики Саха (Якутия). Закон №172-З №351-III от 30 ноября 2004 г. «Об установлении границ и о наделении статусом муниципального района муниципальных образований Республики Саха (Якутия)», в ред. Закона №1535-З №597-V от 27 ноября 2015 г. «О внесении изменений в статьи 1 и 2 Закона Республики Саха (Якутия) "Об установлении границ и о наделении статусом муниципального района муниципальных образований Республики Саха (Якутия)"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Якутия", №245, 31 декабря 2004 г. (State Assembly (Il Tumen) of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic. Law #172-Z No. 351-III of November 30, 2004 On Establishing the Borders and on Granting the Municipal District Status to the Municipal Formations of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, as amended by the Law #1535-Z No. 597-V of November 27, 2015 On Amending Articles 1 and 2 of the Law of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic "On Establishing the Borders and on Granting the Municipal District Status to the Municipal Formations of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
Государственное Собрание (Ил Тумэн) Республики Саха (Якутия). Закон №173-З №353-III от 30 ноября 2004 г. «Об установлении границ и о наделении статусом городского и сельского поселений муниципальных образований Республики Саха (Якутия)», в ред. Закона №1058-З №1007-IV от 25 апреля 2012 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Республики Саха (Якутия) "Об установлении границ и о наделении статусом городского и сельского поселений муниципальных образований Республики Саха (Якутия)"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Якутия", №245, 31 декабря 2004 г. (State Assembly (Il Tumen) of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic. Law #173-Z No. 353-III of November 30, 2004 On Establishing the Borders and on Granting the Urban and Rural Settlement Status to the Municipal Formations of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, as amended by the Law #1058-Z No. 1007-IV of April 25, 2012 On Amending the Law of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic "On Establishing the Borders and on Granting the Urban and Rural Settlement Status to the Municipal Formations of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).