Have you ever wondered how it feels to live in one of the hottest countries in the world?
According to Guinness World Records, Greenland Ranch near Death Valley, California, reported the highest official temperature to date on July 10, 1913, at 56.7 °C. Meanwhile, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) declared in 2012 that the temperature record at El Azizia, Libya, which was set about a century ago, was invalid, with a maximum of 58 °C.
Where are the hottest countries situated on Earth?
Typically, year-round temperatures are warmer in nations that are nearer the equator than in those farther north or south. The seasonal weather variety and range of temperatures experienced over a year increases as one gets closer to the poles, which are further north in the Northern Hemisphere and south in the Southern Hemisphere. The winter months have noticeably cooler temperatures.
Let’s take a look at some of the hottest countries in the world, according to the study by Data Pandas.
1. Mali
Mali experiences an average air temperature of about 28.3 degrees Celsius. African Perceptions claims that on April 4, 2024, high temperatures of up to 48.5 degrees Celsius were recorded in a number of Mali’s regions, including the southwest city of Kayes. El Nino was the source of the heatwave that hit the nation whose capital is Bamako.
2. Burkina Faso
With an average high temperature of 28.3 degrees Celsius, Burkina Faso enjoys a range of high temperatures. The nation is split into three climate zones from north to south. Less than 600 millimetres of rain falls annually in the northern Sahelian zone, 600-900 millimetres in the Sudano-Sahelian region located in the savanna highlands, and 900-1,200 millimetres in the southern region of Sudan.
World Weather Attribution (WWA) claimed that a heatwave in Burkina Faso between April 1 and April 5, 2024, caused soaring temperatures of more than 45 degrees Celsius.
3. Kiribati
Kiribati has a tropical climate that is hot and humid, with an average air temperature of 28.2°C. The sea surface temperature of the surrounding ocean is directly correlated with the air temperature of the nation. The rainy season in Kiribati is influenced by both the Intertropical and South Pacific Convergence Zones.
4. Djibouti
With the exception of the hilly regions in the northern portion of the Gulf of Tadjoura, Djibouti has a tropical dry semi-desert climate. In particular, Djibouti is impacted by erratic and infrequent rainfall patterns. Consequently, the nation is known to have an exceptionally high average air temperature of 28 degrees Celsius.
5. Tuvalu
The average air temperature of Tuvalu, one of the hottest countries on Earth, is 28 degrees Celsius. With a land size of under 26 square kilometres, the nation is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is two meters above sea level on average. Since Tuvalu is an island nation, rising sea levels have a significant impact on air temperatures there.
6. Senegal
With an average air temperature of 27.9 degrees Celsius, Senegal has a warm climate. Matam receives the most rainfall and is the hottest region in the nation. Senegal’s highest recorded temperature was 50.5 degrees Celsius in May of 2002.
7. Mauritania
Mauritania has a hot, dry and windy climate. The majority of the nation has minimal rainfall all year round. Mauritania has an average monthly air temperature of around 27.7 degrees Celsius, with May through October being the country’s summer months.
8. Maldives
The Maldives has a year-round warm, sticky temperature. The greatest months are March, April and mid-May, when the average temperature is around 27.7 degrees Celsius. The enormous ocean that envelops the tiny islands that make up the Maldives is the reason for the country’s high temperatures. On September 12, 1991, the Kadhdhoo Meteorological Office reported the highest temperature ever recorded, which was 36 degrees Celsius.
9. Palau
The weather in Palau is typical of a warm tropical region with two distinct seasons. The rainy season, which runs from April to December and has its peak rainfall in July and October, is followed by the dry season, which runs from December to April. Palau has an average air temperature of 27.6 degrees Celsius.
10. Benin
Benin is one of the warmest countries in the world, with an average air temperature of 27.6 degrees Celsius. Littoral is the coldest region of the nation, and Alibori is the hottest. The majority of Benin has little rainfall, with November through early April being the dry season.
How hot is the hottest country on Earth?
28.83°C, or 83.89°F, appears surprisingly chilly at first appearance. However, bear in mind that these are average total temperatures rather than typical midsummer highs. In other words, this figure encompasses not just summer highs but also summertime day and nighttime temperatures as well as those from spring through autumn and winter. Timbuktu, Mali, for instance, sees daytime highs in the range of 97°F to 108°F from March through mid-October. In fact, January, the coldest month of the year, still has an average daily high of 83°F. However, the annual average temperature drops to an apparently harmless but really harsh mid-80s (°F) average due to colder winter nights in the 58-65°F range.
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What makes temperate nations cooler?
The Earth’s shape is the primary cause of the higher temperatures experienced by nations close to the equator. Sunlight reaches the equator at an almost perpendicular angle due to the Earth’s almost spherical shape, which concentrates it in a smaller area and increases the likelihood that it will be absorbed. But because the sun is striking the poles at a steeper angle, it covers a larger area and is more likely to bounce off (particularly in places where snow has already fallen). Furthermore, coming at a steeper angle forces sunlight to pass through a larger layer of atmosphere, raising the possibility that it may be absorbed, deflected, or reflected by air particles before it reaches the surface. Consequently, a country’s total temperature decreases and its absorption of solar radiation increases with its proximity to the poles.
How does climate change impact the weather?
Extreme weather changes can be seen globally because of the Earth’s changing climate. There is an increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as heat waves that shatter records both on land and in the water, torrential rains, major floods, prolonged droughts, intense wildfires, and extensive flooding during storms.
Since the Industrial Revolution, human activity has dramatically increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, mostly due to the combustion of fossil fuels. The earth warms as a result of the increasing amounts of methane, carbon dioxide, and other gases acting as a blanket to trap heat. The air and ocean temperatures on Earth warm as a result. Land ice melts, weather patterns change, and the water cycle is impacted by this warming, all of which have the potential to exacerbate extreme weather.
The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events have risen due to the human-caused rise in greenhouse gases, as per the 2021 release of the Sixth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Critical data for tracking and reacting to extreme weather events is provided by NASA’s satellite programs, including the soon-to-be-built Earth System Observatory.
Changes in extreme weather connected to climate change
To investigate how severe weather events evolve over time, scientists employ a range of observational methods, including land, air, marine, and space-based datasets and climate models (simulations). To ascertain the frequency and severity of historical events, scientists first go through historical data. While some of these long-term records begin in the 1800s, the majority go back to the 1950s. Then, using climate models, scientists examine if, in comparison to past events, the frequency or intensity of these events is changing or will change as a result of rising greenhouse gas emissions.
Is world getting more hotter?
There is scientific proof that global temperatures are rising. As so, average yearly temperatures will probably reach in all of the world’s countries, from the hottest to the coldest. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the U.S. claims that July 2021 was the hottest month ever recorded. Furthermore, a number of studies from organizations like NASA and the NOAA show that the years 2014-2020 were the warmest six-year span in at least the past 171 years. Research like these provide compelling proof that climate change and global warming caused by humans are real and ongoing. But there are still a lot of unanswered uncertainties about how much the temperature will eventually rise and what actions humanity can and will take to stop, mitigate, or adjust to it.
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