It’s brrrrrutal out there.
The Big Apple turned into the Big Freeze on Monday as bone-chilling temperatures — the coldest on this date since 1985 — enveloped the city.
Folks forced to work outside as the mercury dipped into the single digits — with winds that made it feel closer to minus 20 degrees — huddled under layers of clothing and surrounded themselves with space heaters.
“Today you cannot keep too warm. Everything is frozen — [even] the drinks,” said Times Square hot dog vendor Ioannis Galanopoulos, 52, as he counted his six layers of Under Armour sweatshirts.
A couple of bottles of Coke even exploded in the frigid air, said Galanopoulos who’s worked at the same cart since he was 13 in 1980, and has seen his fair share of cold days.
“I’ve been here since ‘80 so we’ve passed a lot of winters [but] today is pretty cold. Just got to maintain, you know?”
Over in Bryant Park, 40-year-old Le Pain Quotidien worker Carmen sat selling coffee and pastries from the stall’s open window, surrounded by three space heaters.
At the skating rink, Alex Guzman, whose job it is to keep people on the ice safe, told The Post he “can’t really feel my fingers, and I have hand warmers in my gloves.”
“If I didn’t have to work I’d be at home right now, nice and warm,” the 21-year-old said.
Construction foreman Eugene Watson, 38, said keeping your feet warm and wearing lots of layers are the trick to surviving the cold — along with hard work.
“If you’re outside in cold like this you got to keep moving. The laziest guys in the world come alive on a cold day. They become your top workers,” Watson said.
The last time it was this cold on a Jan. 21 in the city was in 1985 when the high was 9 and the low was minus 2 degrees, Accuweather meteorologist Tom Kines said.
The mercury isn’t expected to reach above 13 on Monday with a low of 5. Brutal 15- to 30-mph winds made the already glacial temps feel closer to minus 20 degrees.
Tuesday also will be cold — but not as bitter — as the mercury spikes to at least 25 degrees.
Temperatures will keep climbing Wednesday, reaching a high of 50 degrees by Thursday — with lots of rain.
Additional reporting by Tamar Lapin
