The 7 hottest places on the earth-
Summer is upon us, which means it's time to pack up our sweaters and embrace the sunshine. And while we're all for beach vacations and sweating it out in the tropics, there are some places where temperatures soar past the point of human comfort (unless tanning in 120-degree weather sounds like your cup of tea). From California to South Africa, these are 7 of the hottest places in the world.
Death Valley, California
The national park with a menacing name is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the world’s hottest recorded temperature, having reached a scorching 134° F in July of 1913. The the Mojave Desert locale (and hiking favorite) experienced the hottest June on record in 2016: an average high of 115.5° F, topping out at a sizzling 126° F.
El-Azizia, Libya
Stripped of its title for hottest spot on earth by Death Valley in 2012, after a team of meteorologists invalidated its seemingly record-setting temperature of 136.4° F, temperatures in this North African town near the Mediterranean Sea still regularly climb over 120° F in the summer months.
Dallol, Ethiopia
A kind of geological wonderland of salt formations, acidic hot springs, and gas geysers, this visually stunning hydrothermal field ranks as the lowest sub-aerial volcano in the world. It also vies for the title of world’s hottest spot, with average summer highs reportedly hitting up to 114°.
Wadi Halfa, Sudan
Known for violent dust storms called a haboob, in addition to its high heat index, this city, located on the shores of "Lake Nubia" in the Sudanese section of Lake Nasser, clocked a temperature of 127° F back in April 1967. During summer months, it's not uncommon to see average highs pass the 104° mark.
Dasht-e Lut (Lut Desert), Iran
This uninhabitable desert plateau is often called the hottest surface on the planet, with what NASA calls “land skin temperatures” (the pure heating of ground by radiation from the sun) having reached an unfathomable 159° in 2005. Not even bacteria can survive the crushing heat here.
Tirat Zvi, Israel
Nestled in a valley roughly 722 feet below sea level, this kibbutz hit a whopping 129° F back in 1942, which, reportedly, is the highest officially recorded temperature in Asia.
Timbuktu, Mali
Resting on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, this ancient city makes the list for its unrelenting year-round heat, with winter months known to stubbornly stay in the 90s and average summer temperatures topping out at 108° F. Its highest recorded temperature exceeded a scorching 130°.
