Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Satellites measured 70.7 degrees Celsius on its dark sand in 2005. The figure is taken from NASA, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a records & extremes fact?

Yes. It sits on the Records & Extremes shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

The Lut Desert holds the hottest land surface

Satellites measured 70.7 degrees Celsius on its dark sand in 2005 NASA's Aqua satellite recorded a land skin temperature of 70.7 degrees Celsius in the Lut Desert of Iran in 2005, and the same desert has topped global surveys repeatedly since. The reading is not air temperature: it is the temperature of the ground surface as seen from orbit, which can run far hotter than the air above it. The desert's dark pebbles and closed basin help it absorb and hold heat. It sits in Mondo's records & extremes collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

NASA

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The Lut Desert holds the hottest land surface recordedSatellite readings there passed 70 degrees Celsius, hotter than any other ground on Earth Furnace Creek holds the highest reliably recorded air temperatureThermometers reached 56.7 degrees Celsius in Death Valley in 1913 Dallol recorded the highest average year-round temperatureThe geothermal region maintained an annual average of 34.4 degrees Celsius The Zagros folds contain buried salt domesAncient seawater salts rose through the crumpling rock and pushed up rounded domes Persian qanats carried water underground for milesTunnel builders tapped hillside aquifers and led them downhill by gentle gradients Antarctica is technically the largest desert on EarthAntarctica receives an average of less than 200 millimetres of precipitation each year along its coast and far less inland.

Tags: deserts, heat, iran

The Lut Desert holds the hottest land surface: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Satellites measured 70.7 degrees Celsius on its dark sand in 2005. The figure is taken from NASA, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a records & extremes fact?: Yes. It sits on the Records & Extremes shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.