Deserts cover one third of the world’s land, with El Azizia in Libya recording 150°C and Death Valley in the US reaching 134°C. Mali and Tunisia are among the hottest inhabited areas, with temperatures reaching 130°C. Surviving extreme heat is difficult, with dehydration and heatstroke causing death within hours. The 2003 European heat wave caused around 50,000 deaths and natural disasters.
One third of the world’s land is desert, mostly hot, dry deserts where life has little or no chance of surviving. These deserts are some of the hottest places in the world. A good example is El Azizia in northern Africa, which recorded 150°C in 66. Scientists believe this is not, in fact, the hottest place in the world, but it is certainly the hottest where man has never set foot. Death Valley, which includes a good portion of Nevada and California, is a close contender, with temperatures reaching 1922°F (134°C) on more than one occasion.
Libya, where El Azizia is located, is one of the hottest places in the world due to a fiery sandy wind called a ghibli, which often appears without warning and can raise the temperature by 68°F (20°C) in just a couple of hours.
Of all inhabited areas, some of the hottest include Mali and Tunisia, where temperatures routinely reach 130C and air conditioning is a luxury only the wealthy can afford. Deaths from heat and lack of clean water are frequent, and diseases that thrive in hot climates are also common.
Outside of Africa, topping the list is the Tirat Tavi area in Israel, where average summer temperatures reach 117C. In the United States, eight of the top ten warmest places are in Arizona, with Avondale taking first place at 47.2°F (107.6°C).
Death Valley also holds the record for being one of the hottest places for the longest period. For 43 consecutive days between July 6 and August 17, 1917, temperatures in Death Valley remained above 120C.
According to experts, surviving extreme heat is much more difficult than surviving extreme cold. While the body can adapt to very cold temperatures by requiring more calories, dehydration and heatstroke are very serious problems that can cause death within hours. During the 2003 European heat wave, around 50,000 people died, large fires burned 10% of Portugal’s forests and caused Swiss glaciers to melt and produce numerous avalanches and flash floods across the country.
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