When you are challenged to say the name hottest place on earth, I’m probably thinking of vast desert environments like Death Valley or the African Sahara. However, five continents can experience extreme heat that almost matches these examples, and some of these hottest places are even densely populated by people.
Read on to learn about the hottest places on Earth and how record high temperatures are recorded.
Where are global air temperatures hottest?
People tend to think of regions near the equator as the hottest on Earth, and to some extent this is true. However, places near our North and South Poles can still occasionally reach extreme temperatures during the summer months.
In its orbit, the Earth is tilted at an angle of 23 degrees, compared to the position of the sun, and this causes the northern and southern extremes to receive much more or less sun depending on the season.
On average, temperatures near the equator are still much hotter because the position relative to the sun changes less with the seasons. Climate change is also causing temperatures to rise around the world, affecting where and when record temperatures can be recorded.
When it comes to ranking the hottest place on Earth and climate extremes, keep in mind that the data and methods of measuring data are constantly changing.
Terrain is important
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Deserts, as you might expect, are much hotter during the day than biomes near large bodies of water, thanks to their low relative humidity.
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Regular precipitation has a cooling effect on the temperature of the soil surface
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Lush plant life shades the ground and draws heat-intensive greenhouse gases from the surrounding air.
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Low-lying valleys also tend to be much hotter than high-altitude mountains, due to an increase in air density as you get closer to the pull of Earth’s gravity.
Taking all these factors into account, meteorologists and researchers typically see the highest record temperatures and highest average temperatures in locations near the equator and on flat, low-lying areas of land.
Conversely, mountainous areas near the North and South Poles are often the coldest places on Earth.
How air temperature is measured
For hundreds of years, all we needed to measure air temperature empirically was a traditional thermometer, often filled with dangerous mercury.
Today, weather stations from groups like the World Meteorological Organization have access to accurately measure surface and air temperatures within a fraction of a degree.
The scientific community can also benefit from satellite measurements. Infrared cameras orbiting high above the Earth’s surface can scan the entire surface of the land below and monitor land skin temperatures around the world.
This allows scientists to monitor temperatures in potentially dangerous areas without having to build a weather station or travel to dangerous environments like Furnace Creek in Death Valley.
Air temperature versus surface temperature
As the name suggests, air temperature is a measure of the heat contained in the air in a given area. The surface temperature (also called land skin temperature) is measured directly from the ground.
Because surfaces such as dark stone or asphalt can become much hotter than the air in the same environment when exposed to the sun, there can be differences of more than 30 degrees Fahrenheit between air and surface temperatures.
Air temperature is a more accurate data point than land skin temperatures when assessing the hottest places on Earth, as land surface temperatures tend to vary greatly depending on the surface material and whether or not it is in direct sunlight or shade . .
That said, surface temperatures are still important to researchers because they help them monitor available groundwater and plant growing opportunities in an area.
Officially the hottest: Death Valley, California
For decades, Death Valley has been declared the hottest place on earth, thanks to the record-breaking highest temperature recorded at the Furnace Creek Ranch in July 1913. At 56.7 degrees Celsius, this reading was widely recognized as the highest temperature recorded.
More than 100 years later, similar records have been set in Death Valley, as well as other places on this list.
In July 2023, the National Weather Service station at Furnace Creek recorded an annual high of 128 F (53.3 C), and air temperatures above 120 F (48.9 C) are very common in the Death Valley region during the summer months. Average highs are in the region of 110°F (43.3°C).
Death Valley has certainly earned its name, as the extreme heat could easily spell the end of any unwitting traveler.
Hottest surface temperature (potential): Lut Desert, Iran
In 2021, a satellite indicated readings in Iran’s Lut Desert as high as 81 C (177 F), making this desert possibly the hottest on Earth, at least in terms of surface temperature.
A field research center would be needed to see if this desert really breaks Death Valley’s record, but it is unlikely to be installed due to the remoteness of the region and the danger of travel.
As David Milrexler of the University of Montana puts it in an interview with NASA. “Earth’s hot deserts – such as the Sahara, the Gobi, the Sonoran and the Lut – are climatically harsh and so remote that access for routine measurements and maintenance of a weather station is impractical.”
Until more data can be obtained from these other areas, Death Valley is likely still considered the hottest place on Earth. The margin between the highest temperature in Death Valley and other locations is probably much smaller than we once thought.
Hottest in Africa: Sahara, Algeria
The Sahara Desert covers a huge swath of Africa and includes almost ten countries, from the east coast of Egypt to the west coast of Mauritania. The world’s largest desert can also be one of the most inhospitable, with high temperatures and little rainfall throughout the year.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Africa was measured in the middle of the Sahara and near the Algerian city of Ouargla.
On July 5, 2018, Ouargla was exposed to an extreme temperature of 131°F (55°C), one of the highest numbers ever recorded. The average temperature in the region exceeds 37.8 degrees Celsius from June to September, but the climate is typically milder than some of the other hottest places listed here.
During the deepest winter months, lows can even drop to almost below freezing.
Hottest in Europe: Athens, Greece
As one of the southernmost regions of Europe, Greece is also among the warmest parts of the continent. Air temperatures between June and September reach an average high of about 91°F (32.8°C).
An extreme outlier occurred on July 10, 1977, when the World Meteorological Organization recorded a daily high temperature of 48 C or 118 F. Nearly 50 years later, this example is still the highest air temperature ever recorded in continental Europe.
Hottest in the Southern Hemisphere: Queensland, Australia
Queensland is one of Australia’s most densely populated regions and also the hottest part of the Earth’s southern hemisphere. In January 1960, the WMO recorded a high of 51 C (123 F). This record was equaled again within 0.1 degrees Celsius in January 2024.
Due to its location, Queensland is the warmest in the Northern Hemisphere in winter. Average daily maximum temperatures exceed 90°F (32.2°C) from October through March, with the hottest temperatures occurring early in the year. Even during the winter months in Australia, temperatures rarely drop below 10 degrees Celsius.
Hot 100 years ago: Al Aziziyah, Libya
On September 13, 1922, a hottest temperature reading of 58 C (136 F) was recorded in the Al Aziziyah Desert, just outside Tripoli. At the time this was considered the highest temperature recorded.
More recently, however, doubts have been raised about the accuracy of these data compared to modern methods of temperature recording.
Compared to other desert environments, summers in Tripoli, Libya, are slightly milder. With average highs ranging from the high 80s to low 90s F (30 to 34 C) between June and October, and sometimes reaching past 100 degrees F (37.8 degrees C) in the throes of summer.
4 honorable mentions
1. Danakil Depression, Ethiopia
This beautiful area is consistently known as one of the hottest places on earth. The Danakil Depression has some of the highest recorded temperatures, as well as the highest average temperature and daily maximum temperature.
Temperatures of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit are recorded almost year-round, thanks to a perfect mix of environmental factors, and it has recorded a highest temperature at 125 degrees.
Not only is Danakil located in a low-lying desert near the equator, but it is also a place of increased geothermal activity. Hot springs bubble up from the Earth’s surface and paint the desert in an array of brilliant colors, making the region a local tourist destination and also keeping it warm all year round.
2. Mitribah, Kuwait
At this weather station, located just between the borders of Iraq and Iran, the World Meteorological Organization recorded a record temperature of 54 C (129 F) in the summer of 2016. This record made it the hottest place in Asia at the time, and it was almost equaled again the following year.
In nearby Kuwait City, the highest average temperatures remain above 37.8 degrees Celsius from April to October, peaking at around 46.1 degrees Celsius around midsummer.
3. New Delhi, India
In addition to being one of the most densely populated urban areas in the world, New Delhi is also located in one of the hottest places on earth. The official record for the highest recorded temperature was set in June 2024, with air temperatures above 50 C (122 F).
Scorching temperatures and a dense population can unfortunately pose dangers to the great country. In early summer 2024 alone, up to 50 deaths have been attributed to heat stroke across India. Average temperatures in the Delhi region are often around 37.8 degrees Celsius between April and August.
4. Sonoran Desert, Mexico
South of Death Valley is Mexico’s Sonoran Desert, which stretches from Phoenix, Arizona, to the Baja region of Mexico. The hottest part of the Sonoran is probably along the border area between the United States and Mexico, where arid dunes are surrounded by steep mountain walls.
Recent satellite images from the University of Montana have recorded surface temperatures exceeding 70.6 C (159 F). These readings could indicate high temperatures near or at the level of Death Valley, but the government does not have a weather station on site to verify the numbers.
The average temperature for established cities along the US-Mexico border is usually around 32.2 degrees Celsius during the summer months.
Original article: The hottest place on earth and 9 scorching contenders
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