Where Is the Hottest Place on Earth?

[Deano]

It Lies Somewhere Between Folklore and Science, the Desert and the City.
Here is a good article on exactly where is the hottest place on Earth? With some colleagues at the University of Montana, he did some research and found that the location of the world’s hottest spot changes, though the conditions don’t. Think dry, rocky, and dark-coloured lands.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/HottestSpot/?src=eoa-features

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[Suezy]

I would have said Death Valley.

[JennyLeez]

Yep Wiki agrees:
57.8 °C (136.0 °F)   'Aziziya, Libya   1922-09-13

New Zealands out of interest is:
42.4 °C (108.3 °F)   Rangiora, Canterbury and Jordan, Marlborough (tied)   1973-02-07

[Rwood]

Sorry folks, some old discredited numbers are still getting bandied about. The Azizia reading has been dumped for years - it was miles out of sync. with comparable locations at the time.

One of many articles: http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/comment.html?entrynum=6

Death Valley's 134F is also dodgy:

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/comment.html?entrynum=3

The article concludes that nothing rock solid beyond about 54.5C has been measured.

The hottest location for average year-round temperatures is Dallol in Ethiopia, in the Danikil Depression. Easy to Google and read some stuff about it.

BTW for mean annual temperature, Key West in the mainland US just shades Death Valley, as its winters are warmer.

Pleas note that Wikipedia has a LOT of very inaccurate climate information, especially on sunshine data.

[Suezy]

Read where that Azizia one was dodgey.
Have read where the Lut Dessert is also a good contender for that label.
Also that it can change from year to year.

[Rwood]

There are places with hotter "midsummer" conditions, but Dallol wins on annual averages - it doesn't have anything resembling a cooler season. It is in a depression, with some geothermal activity below it. During the time temperatures were measured there it averaged 34.4C (94F). Death Valley, Iran, Pakistan and similar hot-summer locations have relatively cold winters.

[ato2]

What happens if one factors in humidity? There are some places, as along the Equator, that are constantly warm and humid, 24 hrs per day, every day of the year. Their maxima won't be as high as those dry places, I know, but the humidity must make a difference to comfort levels, surely.

I recall that when I lived in Singapore, that I visited Perth a couple of times.. Perth would be in the 40's, around ten degrees warmer than Singapore, in the day, but Perth felt quite pleasant by comparison.

Then the Equatorial regions, at sea level, have constant high overnight lows...every month of the year over 22 or 23 degrees, with absolute minimums over 20 degrees.

Just my ten cents worth.

[Rwood]

The maximum discomfort levels - as opposed to straight out heat - would be in parts of the Gulf, where the highest dewpoints ever recorded occur.

Here's one note:

http://blog.chicagoweathercenter.com/2011/07/ask-tom-why-whats-the-highest-dew-point-ever-recorded.html

I wouldn't take too much notice of the heat index though, it seems to be too controversial, like windchill. Dewpoint is a good measure for most.

[ato2]

Thanks for that, Rupert.