BlogThis has been an insane, record-breaking summer. We’ve seen multiple heat waves across the US, Canada, and Scandinavia. It’s August, summer is winding down, but it’s not over yet.
As we count down the days to cooler weather, let’s look at some of the hottest places on earth, and remember: We’re grateful for air conditioning.
Death Valley, California, USA
Holding the world record for hottest temperature of ambient air, Death Valley in California has a well-earned reputation as the hottest place on earth. A now-disputed record was set in 1913. But just last month, a more accurate record was likely set, at 130°F. Either way, Death Valley sees some of the hottest temperatures each year.
Death Valley, in spite of its name, is a popular tourist destination. People can hike, camp, and even star gaze, in the park. It is designated as a “dark sky” site, meaning that night light pollution is intentionally restricted to promote the study of astronomy.
Kebili, Tunisia
Kebili, one of the oldest towns in Tunisia, was settled because it is an oasis in the Sahara Desert. Signs of human habitation there date back around 200,000 years. It claims a recorded temperature of 131°F, but the record is disputed. Nonetheless, it does have a reputation for being an insanely hot place.
The city is within the Sahara Desert, which has a global reputation as being a hot, dry, unforgiving place. The area around Kebili is particularly hot and dry due to a weather phenomenon where wind coming off the leeward side of a mountain is particularly dry and hot. This, combined with the geographic features of sand and rock, makes Kebili so toasty.
Turbat, Pakistan
Located in southwest Pakistan, the city of Turbat is considered one of the hottest cities in Asia, and holds a record of the fourth hottest recorded temperature ever.
The record was set on May 27, 2017, when the temperature reached 128.7°F. What’s even crazier is that the record was during a heat wave, where the city’s temperatures reached 122°F for four days in a row!
Dallol, Ethiopia
Dallol, Ethiopia has earned the award for hottest inhabited place on earth. The average high is between 86°F and 101.7°F, which seems just brutal! In spite of the intense heat, the area has been inhabited by pastoral tribes for millennia. A small community was established in the 20th century as part of international efforts to mine salt from the area, but as the market has changed, most people have left the area.
Dallol is an otherworldly place, close to the Red Sea but more than 400 feet below sea level. It is also one of the world’s most volcanic regions. The desirable salts are pushed up from the soil by the volcanic activity. It makes the landscape fascinating, beautiful, peculiar, and dangerous to people unaccustomed to navigating the area.
Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok has a reputation as a sweltering, crowded, busy city, and it it well-deserved in all regards. Because of its location on the Gulf of Thailand, its proximity to the equator, and other factors, Thailand is hot year-round, and there is never any relief from the weather.
The average temperature is 90° F, and combined with the high humidity, the city feels like it never cools off. And that’s before the rains of the summer monsoons! Bangkok has turned the heat to its advantage, with a reputation as a dynamic, vibrant, hot, and unique mega-metropolis.
Fortunately, the city has built water parks and other outdoor amenities to help ward off, or embrace, the constant heat that one must learn to love in Thailand.
Timbuktu, Mali
Sitting on the edge of the Sahara, Timbuktu is a famous, but dwindling, city. Once one of the most important cities in Africa, Timbuktu is now suffering from the effects of desertification, where sands blown in from the Sahara and cover more and more of the arable and usable land in the region.
Timbuktu is dry, getting less than ten inches of rain per year. It’s also hot; even in the cooler months, the daily high is still above 80°F. During the hotter months, average daily highs are between 95-105°F!
These are just a few of the crazy hot places around the world. As we endure the last, hottest days of summer, let’s hope that the closest we get to setting any heat records is reading this article today. Stay cool!
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