12 of the Hottest Places on Earth

When you dream of jetting off to somewhere warm and sunny, you likely picture a beach with temperatures in the 80s or maybe 90s—not a desert that gets up to 130 degrees. But for those with extremely hot destinations on their must-visit lists, these steamy cities and barren stretches of baking dirt are of particular interest. They’re the hottest places on Earth.

Death Valley in California is well known to be the world’s hottest place, but some of the other locations might surprise you, like a region in China and a very touristy part of Greece. Some are known for year-round heat, while others can be relatively pleasant throughout the cooler months before reaching summertime extremes. Plan to visit—or avoid—these sweltering spots from the United States to Australia.

Death Valley, California

According to the World Weather and Climate Extremes Archive of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), temperatures in Death Valley reached 134 degrees Fahrenheit in 1913—the hottest air temperature recorded anywhere in the world. Although some scientists debate the reliability of historic temperature readings, Death Valley reportedly hit 130 degrees again in 2020 and 2021. It’s all about the terrain in this part of the Mojave Desert that makes it so sweltering: The lofty peaks of the surrounding Sierras trap heat inside this low-elevation valley (below sea level), and there’s very little vegetation to block the heat from penetrating the ground. The average summer day in Death Valley National Park reaches about 100, though it isn’t uncommon for temperatures to soar above 120. The weather is much more tolerable for travelers in the winter.

Kebili, Tunisia

Kebili, Tunisia, holds the record for the highest temperature ever recorded in the Eastern Hemisphere. The WMO’s weather archive notes that it reached 131 degrees Fahrenheit in July 1931. Kebili is a historic oasis in North Africa’s vast and arid Sahara Desert. Tourists visit to see the stark, sandy landscape and feel the less intense warmth in the spring and summer. June through September is an inadvisable time to make a trip unless you like daily highs well over 90 degrees.

Mitribah, Kuwait

Mitribah is not a town but a weather station in the remote Kuwait Desert close to the Iraq border. It recorded the highest temperature in the WMO’s Region II, which encompasses most of Asia, in July 2016, when it reached 129 degrees. In addition to the heat it experiences just from being near the equator, Mitribah also catches the shamal winds that carry hot, dry air across the Middle East. Daily highs in the summer tend to exceed 100 degrees.

Tirat Tsvi, Israel

Tirat Tsvi—also spelled Tirat Zvi—is a kibbutz (a communal settlement) in the Beit She’an Valley of northeast Israel, near the border of Jordan. With a highest documented temperature of 129 degrees in June 1942, this place holds the record in WMO’s Region VI, which includes Europe and the Middle East. Luckily, there are swimming holes to help the locals cool off, thanks to the valley’s numerous springs.

Turbat, Pakistan

In May 2017, Turbat, Pakistan, experienced blistering heat exceeding 128 degrees, one of the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Asia. Turbat is a city in the very arid Balochistān province on the banks of the Kech River. Heat waves are common here and throughout Pakistan, but they’re even more frequent in recent years because of climate change. In 2024, the country experienced a prolonged heat wave that killed more than 500 people, primarily in Sindh, east of Turbat.

Oodnadatta, Australia

Oodnadatta is located about halfway between Adelaide and Alice Springs near the searingly hot center of Australia. It’s where the highest temperature in the Southern Hemisphere (123 degrees) was recorded in January of 1960. Despite the town’s remote Outback location, two and a half hours off the main road that cuts through the Red Centre, tourists still go out of their way to visit. The main draw is the Oodnadatta Track, a 382-mile drive that follows a historic Aboriginal trading route. If you’re adventurous enough to take it on, plan your trip between April and October, when average daytime temperatures typically range from the 50s to the 80s.

Rivadavia, Argentina

The highest temperature ever recorded in South America was outside the city of Rivadavia in the Salta Province of northwestern Argentina. The landscape in this region is a diverse mix of mountains, desert, salt flats, lush valleys, and rain forest. Rivadavia is a low-lying section described climatically as semi-arid. In December 1905, it experienced a 120-degree day that broke records. Today, the average high during January, the hottest month, is more in the mid-to-high 90s.

Athens, Greece

One of the most tourist-friendly hot places to visit is Athens, the Greek metropolis known for having warm, dry Mediterranean summers. You might not want to plan your trip to the Acropolis in July or August, when the average high temperature exceeds 90 degrees. The ancient city held the heat record for continental Europe for 44 years, between July 1977 and August 2021, when it was broken by Syracuse on the Italian island of Sicily. The previous record was 118 degrees, and Athens can still get above 100 during intense heat waves. If only those ancient monuments had air-conditioning.

Syracuse, Italy

Located on the coast of Sicily, Syracuse is the current record holder for the hottest place in continental Europe, reaching about 120 degrees in 2021. Sicily has long been synonymous with a hot Mediterranean climate, often catching the sirocco, the hot wind that blows in from Africa. The climate is to thank for the scrumptious bounty that comes from its orchards, too, from olives to citrus fruits. If you visit this tourist destination in July or August, you can expect to endure temperatures in the upper 80s or higher as you tour the historical sites and piazzas.

Lut Desert, Iran

In addition to WMO’s records, NASA satellite imaging can detect land surface temperatures (LSTs) in remote, difficult-to-access areas. This technology measures the heating of the land’s surface rather than the air temperature. In this category, southeastern Iran’s Lut Desert (also known as Dasht-e Lut) repeatedly beats out the rest. For many years, the Lut has had the hottest LST on Earth, beating its own record in 2018 with a downright fiery reading of 177 degrees. The Persian name of this desert, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, translates to “bare land without water and devoid of vegetation.” The terrain is covered in a layer of dark-colored pebbles, which absorb more heat than lighter-colored rock.

Flaming Mountains, China

With a name like “Flaming Mountains,” it’s no surprise that this area of red sandstone formations in China gets pretty toasty. People actually travel to this remote region in the Turpan Basin to feel the heat and take photos in front of a towering thermometer that reads the real-time land surface temperature, which has historically reached around 175 degrees.

Danakil Depression, Ethiopia

Often called the “gateway to hell” for its consistently high temperatures, Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression is one of the hottest inhabited places on the planet. The average temperature is about 95 degrees year-round, but the most sizzling days can soar over 100. One of the most unique geological features of the region, the Dallol hydrothermal field creates an otherworldly landscape that travelers brave the long drive and excruciating heat to see. Tourists who want to get in and out quickly without immersing themselves in the harsh environment opt for helicopter rides from Tigray and other nearby destinations.