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Death Valley prides itself on being the hottest place on earth, based on the temperature record of 54.0 °C (air temp at 1.5m). However, DV does not come out on
by dpkingma 5y ago
Death Valley prides itself on being the hottest place on earth, based on the temperature record of 54.0 °C (air temp at 1.5m).
However, DV does not come out on top when looking at temperatures measured by satellites (EDIT: ground temperature, and less reliable.) From Wikipedia [1]: "The highest recorded temperature taken by a satellite is 66.8 °C (152.2 °F), which was measured in the Flaming Mountains of China in 2008. Other satellite measurements of ground temperature taken between 2003 and 2009, taken with the MODIS infrared spectroradiometer on the Aqua satellite, found a maximum temperature of 70.7 °C (159.3 °F), which was recorded in 2005 in the Lut Desert, Iran. The Lut Desert was also found to have the highest maximum temperature in 5 of the 7 years measured (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009). These measurements reflect averages over a large region and so are lower than the maximum point surface temperature." According to [2], the record is 80.8 °C at Lut Desert.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highest_temperature_recorded_on_Earth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highest_temperature_recorded_o...
[2] https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/bams/aop/BAMS-D-20-0325.1/BAMS-D-20-0325.1.xml https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/bams/aop/BAMS-D-2...
- jandrese 5y agoDeath Valley: The hottest place on Earth where people can survive long enough to keep a temperature station manned. I am confused how 66.8C can be "the highest recorded temperature taken by a satellite", while the Aqua satellite found a maximum temperature of 80.8C.
- phaemon 5y agoImagine I was measuring the temperature in your home. I measured above your grill. Is that a good average for your home temperature?
- ngngngng 5y agoI once set my oven to 350F, does that mean my house holds the record?
- phaemon 5y agoNot even close. What do you reckon the highest temperature was achieved in a house?
- rovr138 5y agoForest fires have burnt houses. That's visible from space too.
- AlexCoventry 5y agoI heard the tungsten filament in old-fashioned light bulbs can reach 2800K.
- a9h74j 5y agoAnd LEDs can now reach 5000K :)
- quickthrowman 5y agoA tungsten filament can reach 4500 degrees Fahrenheit
- ThePowerOfFuet 5y agoThat's colour temperature, not actual temperature.
- seanp2k2 5y agohttps://www.hisour.com/correlated-color-temperature-24475/ https://www.hisour.com/correlated-color-temperature-24475/
- jandrese 5y agoDid you measure it from a satellite?
- jandrese 5y agoIt doesn't say highest average measurement, it says highest recorded temperature. Plus, there is a 70.7 average measurement listed as well.
- exporectomy 5y agoYou're right, it doesn't need to be an average. Meteorologists are interested in outdoor air temperature in the shade, away from local disturbances like buildings and the ground. That way it's not influenced by uninteresting local effects like the color of the walls, direct solar heating (affected by the properties of the thermometer itself) or somebody turning the oven on. That 70.7 degrees from the satellite was ground temperature, not air temperature, so it can't be compared.
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- bcrosby95 5y agoYou're comparing apples to oranges though. The 54.0 reading in Death Valley was measuring the temperature of the air - in particular, 1.5 meters above the ground. Satellites measure ground temperature - as in, temperature at the ground. Lots of things can affect ground temperature.
- dpkingma 5y agoTrue, edited original comment to reflect this.
- tablespoon 5y ago> You're comparing apples to oranges though. The 54.0 reading in Death Valley was measuring the temperature of the air - in particular, 1.5 meters above the ground. Satellites measure ground temperature - as in, temperature at the ground. Lots of things can affect ground temperature. Exactly. I have a radio thermometer in my attic whose readings max out at 140°F. During the summer it's regularly maxed out, so the actual air temp is hotter still (and the actual surface temp of the roof must be even hotter than that). Outside air temp is nowhere near any of those temps.