The Hottest and Coldest Places on Earth: Record Temperatures
The record books
| Record | Temperature | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hottest air temperature | 134.1°F (56.7°C) | Furnace Creek, Death Valley, USA | July 10, 1913 |
| Hottest reliably modern reading | 130.0°F (54.4°C) | Death Valley, USA | Aug 16, 2020 & Jul 9, 2021 |
| Coldest air temperature | -128.6°F (-89.2°C) | Vostok Station, Antarctica | July 21, 1983 |
| Coldest inhabited place | -90°F (-67.8°C) recorded | Oymyakon, Russia | Feb 6, 1933 |
| Hottest average city | ~94°F (34.4°C) annual high | Mecca, Saudi Arabia | - |
| Coldest capital city | ~30°F (-1.3°C) annual mean | Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia | - |
Why these places get so extreme
Death Valley’s recipe for heat
- 282 feet below sea level - sinking air compresses and warms.
- Ringed by mountains that trap the hot air in place.
- Bone-dry ground - every watt of sunshine heats air instead of evaporating water.
Antarctica inverts every ingredient
Months of polar night, ice that reflects most incoming sun, high elevation, and thin dry air let heat radiate freely to space.
Oymyakon, the coldest permanently inhabited settlement, sits in a Siberian valley where dense cold air pools during weeks-long winter nights. Its January average high is around -44°F (-42°C) - school stays open until about -61°F. Even Vostok’s record sits far above the ultimate floor: see what absolute zero is and why nothing can ever reach it.
Extremes you can visit on this site
Compare live extremes on our hottest cities right now and coldest cities right now rankings, or explore climate pages for famously hot and cold cities like Phoenix, Dubai, Fairbanks, and Ulaanbaatar.
Records by continent
| Continent | Hottest | Coldest |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 134.1°F / 56.7°C (Death Valley, USA) | -81.4°F / -63°C (Snag, Canada) |
| South America | 120°F / 48.9°C (Rivadavia, Argentina) | -27°F / -32.8°C (Sarmiento, Argentina) |
| Europe | 119.8°F / 48.8°C (Syracuse, Italy) | -72.6°F / -58.1°C (Ust-Shchuger, Russia) |
| Africa | 131°F / 55°C (Kebili, Tunisia) | -11°F / -23.9°C (Ifrane, Morocco) |
| Asia | 129.2°F / 54°C (Tirat Zvi; Ahvaz) | -90°F / -67.8°C (Oymyakon & Verkhoyansk) |
| Oceania | 123.3°F / 50.7°C (Oodnadatta, Australia) | -14.1°F / -25.6°C (Ranfurly, NZ) |
| Antarctica | 64.9°F / 18.3°C (Esperanza Base) | -128.6°F / -89.2°C (Vostok Station) |
Disputed records and modern measurements
Record-keeping has teeth: the WMO has revoked more than one famous record. Libya's long-standing 136.4°F (58°C) reading from 1922 was struck off in 2012 after investigators found observer error, which returned the crown to Death Valley's 1913 reading - itself questioned by some climatologists. That is why many scientists treat Death Valley's modern 130.0°F (54.4°C) readings from 2020 and 2021 as the most reliable extreme heat ever measured.
Satellites see hotter ground still: land-surface temperatures above 175°F (80°C) have been estimated in Iran's Lut Desert. Those measure the soil itself, not the 2-meter air temperature that official records require - the same distinction applies at the other extreme, where satellite estimates of the Antarctic plateau reach -144°F.