The extremes of the Earth

The official air temperature record is 56.7 °C, at Furnace Creek in Death Valley, United States, on July 10, 1913. Many experts question that old measurement, and the 54.4 °C recorded at the same location in 2020 and 2021 are considered the highest reliable temperatures measured with modern instruments.

On the ground, the heat is even greater: satellites have measured more than 70 °C on the surface of the Lut Desert in Iran. And the hottest permanently inhabited place on average is Dallol, Ethiopia, where the annual average temperature has reached about 35 °C.

The Atacama Desert in Chile is the driest desert outside the polar regions: in Arica, the average is less than 1 millimeter of rain per year. The almost always clear skies are why so many observatories are located in the region. In Brazil, the city with the least rainfall is Cabaceiras, in the Cariri of Paraíba, with about 330 millimeters per year.

At the other extreme, Mawsynram, in the mountains of northeastern India, receives on average about 11,800 millimeters of rain per year, brought by the monsoons. Neighboring Cherrapunji holds the record for a single year: 26,461 millimeters between 1860 and 1861. The record for a single day is Réunion Island, with 1,825 millimeters in 24 hours, in 1966.

Many of these places can be visited, with caution. Death Valley is near Las Vegas and is best visited in winter: in summer, the heat is dangerous even for people who only step out of the car. In the Atacama, the altitude and dry air require plenty of water and sunscreen.

To feel real cold without leaving Brazil, the Serra Catarinense is the choice in winter, from June to August. And for extremes of light and darkness, the auroras and the midnight sun of northern Europe are on other pages in this series.