An Analysis of Satellite Data Reveals 2 Terrifying Places on Earth, with Surface Temperatures Exceeding 80 Degrees Celsius.
According to a research summary published in the scientific journal Science, while Death Valley in the United States holds the record for the highest air temperature on Earth (56.7 degrees Celsius), when considering surface temperatures, there are 2 locations that are even more alarming.
A new study utilized data from a pair of Earth-observing satellites equipped with NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to identify 2 “death zones.”
Lut Desert in Iran – (Photo: IRAN ON ADVENTURE).
MODIS measures various parameters, from ozone levels to phytoplankton abundance, by scanning the entire surface of the planet day after day.
In cloud-free areas, MODIS detects infrared signals emitted by the surface, which essentially represents the temperature we feel from soil, dust, or ice when we touch it.
The two locations identified are the Lut Desert in Iran and the Sonoran Desert along the Mexico-U.S. border.
In certain areas of these deserts, temperatures have recently reached an astonishing 80.8 degrees Celsius, which is comparable to hot water from a heater—just below boiling point but hot enough to prepare instant noodles or brew coffee.
Surface temperatures tend to be hotter than the air above, especially on sunny days when the surface is heated by both the air and solar radiation, explains ecologist David Mildrexler from the Eastern Oregon Legacy Lands conservation organization.
Previously, this research team had conducted analyses indicating that summer temperatures often soar above 60 degrees Celsius in some of the planet’s arid regions.
In a 2011 survey, the highest recorded surface temperature in the Lut Desert was 70.7 degrees Celsius, equivalent to the temperatures measured in the Sonoran Desert the following summer.
The new analysis, with temperatures reaching up to 80.8 degrees Celsius recorded at two locations, is a shocking figure even after just over a decade.
Higher temperatures are bad news for desert organisms as they are pushed to the brink of their adaptability to heat. Undoubtedly, a surface temperature increase of over 10 degrees in just over a decade is very bad for the ecosystem. Scientists refer to this as “the footprint of continuous warming over a vast area.”
The new analysis also highlights the Qaidam Basin in China, a crescent-shaped depression surrounded by mountains on the Tibetan Plateau, as the location with the greatest daily temperature fluctuations.
There, temperatures can vary by as much as 81.8 degrees Celsius. For instance, on July 29, 2006, the temperature soared from -23.7 degrees Celsius to 58.1 degrees Celsius. Many days before and after also exhibited significant temperature fluctuations.
