A study of the most extreme surface temperatures on Earth showed that the hottest areas are the Loot Desert in Iran and the North American Sonoran Desert, Science Alert reported.
According to satellite data from the last two decades, the surface in these two areas sometimes heats up to 80.8 degrees Celsius.
Dasht-e Lut, which means “Desert of Emptiness”
occupies the first place in terms of surface heat. Extensive salt desert located in the southeastern part of Iran. In particular, it is located in three provinces – Kerman, Baluchestan and Sistan. Compared to other deserts in the world in terms of net size, the Lut Desert is at position 27. The name “Lut” is an Arabic reference to the Prophet Lot. This prophet is the same as the Lot from the Old Testament in the Bible, as well as from the Qur’an. In religious texts, he was a messenger of God sent to Sodom and Gomorrah.
From 2002 to 2019. the temperature there was regularly incinerating, probably because it was between mountain ranges that stopped the air above the dunes, especially in the parts covered with black volcanic rock.
The data confirm the findings in 2011. In 2004, 2007, and 2009, the highest land temperatures were recorded in the Lut Desert.
In 2005, the region reached 70.7 degrees Celsius, but according to the authors of the new study, the values were probably higher.
Following this first analysis, NASA is updating satellite software and can now better record Earth’s surface temperatures. With it, experts conclude that temperatures in the Lut Desert were 10 degrees higher than previously thought.
Temperatures in the Sonoran Desert on the US-Mexico border can reach such extreme levels, but not as often as in the Loot Desert. Death Valley in California was considered the hottest place on Earth with a record temperature of 56.7 degrees Celsius, but that’s just the heat of the air. It turns out that not all types of cacti can fit in a flower pot on the windowsill. Among them are real giants that reach a height of 20 meters and even serve as a habitat for birds. Such cacti grow in the North American desert of Sonora and are strictly protected by the state and 25 years in prison await the destruction or damage of this plant.
The study also found the coldest place on Earth – Antarctica with a record of minus 110.9 degrees Celsius – 20 degrees lower than previous calculations.
The results of the study are published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, the national information agency of the Republic of Bulgaria (the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency) writes.
