discussion Coolest and hottest cities in the world

[Ash12345]

Although Africa has been eliminated, that's not to say that it's not a contender for the hottest spots in the world, it's just that it doesn't have any massive cities in those locations.

 

https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/places-global-african-history/djibouti-city-republic-djibouti-1888/
Djibouti City, Djibouti

If the population threshold had been lowered to 500,000, then Djibouti City would have made it. The East African port experiences mean temperatures of 36.4C in July, and matches Kharthoum's annual mean of 29.9C.

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3985182711506679&id=1289407534417557&set=a.1289409954417315&source=48
Touggourt, Algeria

The western part of the Sahara desert gets very hot too, and central Algeria is peppered with oasis cities that experience some pretty extreme summer temperatures. The hottest medium sized city is Touggourt, Algeria, with a population of about 150,000, and July mean of 36.1C.

 

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Mosqu%C3%A9+Ali+Ben+Abi+Taleb/@26.7170129,0.1737747,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipPeHY_TJGPf0PwZhLBKiQ0hgdMDipY3UqKsfQLW!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPeHY_TJGPf0PwZhLBKiQ0hgdMDipY3UqKsfQLW%3Dw203-h152-k-no!7i3264!8i2448!4m9!1m2!2m1!1smosque!3m5!1s0x1209c36f2747dc29:0x4190213f088e39bf!8m2!3d26.7171962!4d0.1736168!15sCgZtb3NxdWWSAQZtb3NxdWU
Reggane, Algeria

The hottest town in the Sahara however, appears to be Reggane, Algeria, with a July mean temperature of 39.8C. It's part of a small string of oasis towns along N52 highway in Adrar and In Salah provinces that experience July means in the high 30s, with average daytime temperatures in the high 40s and nights in the low 30s. However, these are fairly small towns of less than 50,000 people, with Reggane having approximately 20,000.

 

https://explorersweb.com/dallol-hell-on-earth/
Dallol, Ethiopia

But East Africa is still very hot too. Not only does it have the world's large city with the highest annual mean (Kharthoum) and the mid-sized city with the highest annual mean (Djibouti), but it also has the hottest annual mean in the world - populated or not. That would be Dallol, Ethiopia, located at 130m below sea level in the Afar Depression. It's home to some otherworldly hot springs, and experiences an annual mean of 34.6C, with its hottest month being July, with an annual mean of 38.7C.

[BrokenMachine]

2 hours ago, Ash12345 said:

You'll be here for a while then. 

Well, I see both made it into the hottest cities top 5 from the American continent... but they couldn't compete against Asian cities 

[Ash12345]

https://www.visitphoenix.com/
Phoenix, AZ

[Ash12345]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAxKAatP2Wc&ab_channel=LiveHistoryIndia
Bikaner, India

[Ash12345]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Najaf
Najaf, Iraq

[Ash12345]

https://www.zameen.com/area-guides/multan-15/
Multan, Pakistan

[Ash12345]

https://www.visitdubai.com/en
Dubai, UAE

[Ash12345]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57311683
Mecca, Saudi Arabia

 

Multan is the hottest city in Pakistan, and so we are now down to only one city from India representing South Asia. Phoenix was also the hottest city in the Americas. Mexicali has hotter day-time highs, but Phoenix has warmer nights.

 

Remaining Cities
Northern America: 0/62
Latin America: 0/94
Europe: 0/75
Africa: 0/92
West Asia: 9/54
Central & North Asia: 0/19
South Asia: 1/97
Southeast Asia: 0/42
East Asia: 0/155
Oceania: 0/6

[Ash12345]

https://www.worldatlas.com/cities/lake-havasu-city-arizona.html
Lake Havasu City, USA

For the Americas, the hottest small city that I could find was Lake Havasu City in Arizona, with a population of around 60,000. It has a July mean of 35.6C, just a touch hotter than Phoenix, although with hotter days and cooler nights. It's July average high is even hotter than Mexicali's.

https://www.doi.gov/blog/12-things-you-didnt-know-about-death-valley
Death Valley, USA

Death Valley is the hottest spot in the Americas, with a July mean temperature of 40.1C, it rivals Reggane, Algeria and the #1 city on this list as the place with the hottest monthly mean. Located 86m below sea level, it also holds the world's official heat record of 56.7C, recorded at the village of Furnace Creek.

[Ash12345]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kota_City_of_Rajasthan_View.jpg
Kota, India

[Ash12345]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riyadh_Province
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

[Ash12345]

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/dammam-port-10144
Ad-Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Edited August 8, 2022 by Ash12345

[Ash12345]

https://www.visitsaudi.com/en/see-do/destinations/medina
Medina, Saudi Arabia

 

 

Kota in the province of Rajasthan in NW India is the hottest city in South Asia. Medina is the hottest major city in Saudi Arabia. The oasis city of Al-Hofuf located about 75 km inland from the Persian Gulf is slightly hotter with a July mean of 37.8C, but it's a bit below the 750,000 population cut-off. El-Dammam in Saudi Arabia is noteworthy for its suburb of Dhahran which has experienced the highest dew point ever recorded. In the Persian Gulf, because the water is so hot, sometimes not only is it really hot, but also really humid. In 2003, Dhahran experienced a temperature of 42C, and relative humidity of 68%, which amounts to a dew point of 35C, or a heat index 81C (178F). Prolonged exposure to heat indexes of 54C (130F) is considered dangerous to vulnerable people even without exertion, while in the shade. A heat index of 178F is thought to be potentially fatal to even young people after prolonged exposure, even in the shade. Such heat indices may have been quite common during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum 56 million years ago when tropical ocean temperatures were 32-36C depending who you ask.

 

Remaining Cities
Northern America: 0/62
Latin America: 0/94
Europe: 0/75
Africa: 0/92
West Asia: 3/54
Central & North Asia: 0/19
South Asia: 0/97
Southeast Asia: 0/42
East Asia: 0/155
Oceania: 0/6

[Ash12345]

The #2 and #3 cities are located only about 100-150km from the #1 city.

[Ash12345]

https://irangashttour.com/ahvaz/
#3 Ahvaz, Iran - July mean temperature - 37.3C

 

In 2017, Ahvaz set Asia's all time heat record of 54C.

 

However, if you include smaller cities, the hottest city in Iran is actually Iranshahr, with a population of a little over 100,000, and a June mean of 38.3C. It's located in the opposite end of the country from Ahvaz, between the Lut desert and Persian Gulf.

[Ash12345]

https://www.globalshapers.org/hubs/kuwait-city-hub-a0f4d6a4ff-hub
#2 - Kuwait City, Kuwait - July mean temperature - 38.7C

 

Kuwait City is the hottest city directly on the Persian Gulf, although the #1 city on this list is just up the road.

[ichabe]

Perched for number one. Glad my city is colder than most of the cities mentioned so far. We also have a lot of rains during the dry season. 

[Ash12345]

https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/843369467695007455/
#1 - Basra, Iraq - July mean temperature 40.0C

During the times of Ancient Mesopotamia, the land Basra sits on was beneath the Persian Gulf. With the shift in shorelines, Basra is now located about 100km inland, on the Arvand Rud river (which is the result of the merging of the Tigris and Euphrates waters). Its population of 1.5 million now braves the hottest summers in the world.

Edited August 8, 2022 by Ash12345

[Ash12345]

Full list
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cAw5gpGP_hVYVAHINLqPfwnB-tocHDx9S1inA4FurZ8/edit#gid=0

And map
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?hl=en&mid=1ubGrKWH8SyNuaaMTCXvtqpcjZw2b_C4&ll=8.78654430130024%2C0&z=2

[KillingYourCareer]

Thoughts and prayers to whoever lives in those hot cities, thankfully located in a part of the world I'd never relocate to! My ideal climate is 15-22°C, sunny and windy, kinda like the Canary Islands in winter.

[Blackthorn]

That's some massive work you've done, OP  I'm very impressed, thank you for taking the time to create this very interesting and informative thread

[Genius1111]

On 8/8/2022 at 4:33 AM, Ash12345 said:

 

 

https://explorersweb.com/dallol-hell-on-earth/
Dallol, Ethiopia

But East Africa is still very hot too. Not only does it have the world's large city with the highest annual mean (Kharthoum) and the mid-sized city with the highest annual mean (Djibouti), but it also has the hottest annual mean in the world - populated or not. That would be Dallol, Ethiopia, located at 130m below sea level in the Afar Depression. It's home to some otherworldly hot springs, and experiences an annual mean of 34.6C, with its hottest month being July, with an annual mean of 38.7C.

I've always wanted to visit Ethiopia, especially this. It's a shame that the country is now in tatters because of the civil war, and with the twindemics, it isn't a great idea to visit.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-08/ethiopia-s-war-ended-now-there-s-hunger-and-strife-quicktake

[Mr. Duff]

Love this thread, thanks OP!

 

I'm surprised to see Dublin as one of the coolest cities, I guess I complain about how hot it is at the moment BUT in general the weather here is actually really nice if you don't mind the unusual "four seasons in a day" weather.

[Ash12345]

I was able to find the relative humidity for the morning and afternoon for US cities, so I can calculate the average daily peak heat index for the warmest month. Only exception are McAllen and Sarasota which historic humidity averages aren't available for so I used Brownsville and Fort Myers instead. Also San Jose doesn't have humidity data (that I could find) so I just made an educated guess based on what nearby cities are like, but even if my guess is off it doesn't really matter since the temperatures are low enough that the heat index will be barely higher than the temperature.

 

This is the bottom tier of US cities, and the month during which they reach their peak heat index. In case of a tie, I broke the tie based on the warmest low temperature.

 

US cities by Heat Index

Chicago's average afternoon relative humidity is 55% vs New York City's 54%, which combined with a 0.2C warmer daily high gives it a hotter average high heat index (despite cooler nights & daily means). 

I also didn't realize the California coast was actually fairly humid, similar to the Great Lakes/Northeast with afternoon humidity levels of around 55%, not just San Francisco but Los Angeles and San Diego too.

[Ash12345]

Mid tier of US city heat indexes.