Worldwide Weather Extremes, Temperature Extremes

Temperature extremes for any place on Earth are determined by a number of factors, including altitude, latitude and physical characteristics. For an extreme to be recorded, an observation must be made at the precise time and place of occurrence; consequently, more extreme temperatures undoubtedly have occurred.


The Hottest

Area	Maxi (°F)	Place	Elevation	Date
Africa	136°	Al Aziziyah, Sahara Desert, Libya1	116	September 13, 1922
North America	134°	Death Valley, California	54	July 10, 1913
Asia	129°	Tirat Tsvi, Israel	220	June 21, 1942
Australia	128°	Cloncurry, Queensland	190	January 16, 1889
Europe	122°	Seville, Spain	8	August 4, 1881
South America	120°	Rivadavia, Argentina	206	December 11, 1905
Oceania	108°	Tuguegarao, Philippines	22	April 29, 1912
Antarctica	59°	Vandaijtation, Scott Coast	NA	January 5, 1974

The Coldest

Area	Min (F)	Place	Elevation	Date
Antarctica	129°	Vostok Station 2	3,420	July 21, 1983
Asia	90°	Oimekon, Russia	800	February 6, 1933
Greenland	87°	Northice Station	2,344	January 9, 1954
North America	81°	Snag, Yukon, Canada	587	February 3, 1947
Europe	67°	Ust Shchugor, Russia	85	Date not known
South America	27°	Sarmiento, Argentina	286	June 1, 1907
Africa	11°	Ifrane, Morocco	1,635	February 11, 1935
Australia	9°	Charlotte Pass, New South Wales	NA	June 29,1994

Rainfall Extremes

The total annual precipitation recorded at a place may vary from year to year. The rainiest places show the greatest variations from year to year in actual amounts. The drier places show the greatest variations taken as a percentage of the mean value. At Cherrapunji (India), for example, the great amount of precipitation in a calendar year was 2,298.9;) cm. The least was 717.80 cm, a difference of 1,581.15 cm. At Arica (Chile), half of the total rainfall recorded from 1931 through 1960 fell in the single year 1949. No rain at all fell in 19 years out of the 30 years. Because of such fluctuations, the average ram precipitation may be greatly influenced by the available years of record; the longer the record, the more reliable is the average.

The Wettest

Area	Avg Annual Rainfall (cm)	Place	Elevation	Yrs of Record
Asia	1,187.3	Mawsynram, Meghalaya, India	-	-
Asia	1,143.0	Cherrapunji, India	1,313	75
Africa	1,027.7	Debundscha, Cameroon	9	33
South America	899.2	Quibdo, Colombia	73	11-1
North America	665.7	Henderson Lake, Br Col	4	15
Europe	464.3	Crkvice, Yugoslavia	1,017	23
Australia	454.7	Tully, Queensland	67	32

The Driest

Area	Avg Annual Rainfall (cm)	Place	Elevation	Yrs of Record
South America	0.05	Quillagua,	29	60
Africa	0.3	Wadi Haifa, Sudan	125	40
Antarctica	2.0	South Pole Station	2,800	11
North America	3.0	Bataques, Mexico	5	15
Asia	4.6	Aden, Yemen	7	51
Australia	10.3	Mulka, South Australia	NA	35
Europe	16.3	Astrakhan, Russia	14	26
Oceania	22.7	Puako, Hawaii	2	14