Today is the 88^th anniversary of what’s considered the hottest naturally occurring ambient air temperature ever recorded on Earth: 136 degrees Fahrenheit (in the shade) at El Azizia, Libya in 1922.  El Azizia* is located a couple of hundred miles due south of Sicily across the Mediterranean and about 55 miles SSW of Tripoli, although that day Tripoli probably wished it was a good deal further away.  There’s no record of what type thermometer was used to make the recording, but it’s generally considered the world record for hot.  (Well, except maybe for this.)

And hot it was.  Another 56 degrees – one of my favorite temperatures – and you could have boiled water, even in El Azizia which is only 158m above mean sea level.

Where hot lives. Image: Google Maps

The recording was made at a farm owned by an Italian man, a fact I’ve read many times over the years and then wondered . . . what does that have to do with the record?  Anyway, the recording was made at a prim little farmhouse on the property but that structure was demolished in 2007 in preparation for a new synoptic meteorological station which is being built by the Libyan National Meteorological Centre.  My guess is that the world record warrants the tribute and it’s interesting to note that average temperatures there run much warmer than Tripoli even though they’re so close to each other.  Tripoli, obviously, has more moderate temperatures given that it’s on the coast.

Death Valley, California comes in at a close second with a hottest-ever of 134F.  I’m defaulting to Fahrenheit today because 134 just looks so much more impressive than 57, at least to an American.

Warm and cozy Death Valley. Photo: virtualtourist.com

My personal temperature spectrum ranges 158 degrees, from 36 below in Crested Butte, CO in 1984 to 122F in Phoenix in 1998.  Although I also spent a summer morning stuck on a stalled train in Madrid when I swore I could see bubbles forming in my bottled water.  FYI, at 36 below, your wet hair will freeze almost instantly when you lean back far enough out of the hot tub. Also, frostbite?  Not as fun as you’d think.  At 122, breathing is fairly uncomfortable and you basically just complain a lot.

Village of Gunnison, CO with Crested Butte in the background. Photo: skinet.com

So add another to your list of “at least I’m nots” to consider the next time you’re stuck in traffic on a ‘hot’ day.  Another one for this Monday morning in Houston: at least it’s not two years ago today when Ike was sitting squarely on top of us.

Have a great week.  Stay cool.

* El Azizia is easier to pronounce than you think: “L is easier” with a Boston accent.