Which is the Hottest and Coldest place in the world?
Well, the hottest place in the world or Mother Earth depends on wherever Mel Gibson or Salma Hayek are at! I mean, then we’re talking seriously humid & hot temperatures.
However, the recorded Hottest Place in the World is El Azizia, Libya, which, in 1922 recorded an amazing, blazing 157° F/ 57.8°C!
How hot is hot you ask? Well, there are plenty of hotter places around the world (like where Brad Pitt lives) but it is important to note that when atmospheric temperatures are recorded it is not the surface temperature, where it can sometimes reach 150° F/ 66° C, but rather the air temperature at about 5 feet (1.6 m) above the surface in an enclosed shelter. Since hardly any humans reside under these conditions you won’t find any meterological stations to record these extreme temperatures.
Did you know that two-thirds of the Earth Surface is covered in water from the oceans but a third is dry desert! But that still does not stop my grandmother from yelling “Don’t run the shower for too long!”
All deserts are not hot (but all green-eyed, dark haired hunks are), Antartica, for example is coldest, driest desert on Earth, since the lack of precipitation – less than 10 in/25.4cm per year is what defines a desert!
The coldest place in the world has got to be my in-laws home! Boy, I shiver, no matter what, every time I visit!
But, as my erudite friends corrected me- the coldest place in the world is Antartica, which besides being the Land of Extremes/The World’s Biggest Laboratory is the windiest and highest continent on Mama Earth! The Coldest reported temperature ever was -89.4°C/-129°F.
Because Antartica is covered in ice (which has been there forever) and yet receives very little rainful, it is the largest desert on Earth. Did you know that 90% of the ice on earth is located in Antarctica and I thought it was my mother-in-law’s refrigerator!
It is no wonder then, that due to its extreme and inclement weather Antartica is the only continent that has never had an indigenous population of humans! Imagine the peace it enjoys! Antartica belongs to the free world hence the exploration of this unique place has been shared by countries all over the world (my in-laws would surely love it there!).
Amazing factoid! During winter Antartica has no sun and hence the cold becomes unbearably bone-chilling with no daylight whatsoever! Almost like living in space. Now, I know what to gift my in-laws this coming Christmas!Psst…my father-in-law informs me that the coldest city on Earth is the city of Yakutsk, Siberia. Maybe he would rather go there instead!
Incidentally the wettest place on Earth (besides my son’s classroom on Open Day) is Cherrapunji, India!
Strangely, one of the driest places in the world, The Atacama desert is nestled along the coast of Chile, South America – right next to the Pacific Ocean which is the biggest body of water in the world!
