What is the coldest place in the world? This plateau holds the freezing cold record.

As Katy Perry once said, “You’re hot then you’re cold.” 

Earth has drastic temperature differences, ranging anywhere from beyond freezing at minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit to blistering 100 plus degrees Fahrenheit — not even a bathing suit or a parka could prepare you for these extreme weather conditions. 

While the Earth just set a new worldwide temperature record, the coldest places on Earth aren’t going anywhere. Continue reading to learn what the coldest and hottest place on Earth is, and more details about the newly set temperature record. 

What is the coldest place on Earth?

At a bone-chilling minus 144 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 98 degrees Celsius), NASA says the East Antarctica Plateau in Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. According to Live Science, researchers found this data by reexamining satellite data that was taken over a ridge on the Antarctic Ice Sheet, which was previously clocked at minus 135 Fahrenheit (minus 93 degrees Celsius). 

Clear conditions and extremely dry air contributed to these cold temperatures, continuing for several days to push the temperature to fall so low.

A small village named Oymyakon in Russia is the coldest permanently inhabited place on Earth. According to Live Science, average temperatures in Oymyakon reach minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 50 degrees Celsius) and was originally a destination for reindeer herders to water their herd at a thermal spring. 

What is the hottest temperature ever recorded?

The hottest global temperature that the Earth has ever experienced was just this week, and experts believe the record will continue to be broken as the year goes on. 

On July 3, 2023, the average worldwide temperature was recorded at 62.6 degrees Fahrenheit (17.18 degrees Celsius), and the next day on July 4, 2023, the record was broken at 62.9 degrees Fahrenheit (17.18 degrees Celsius). July 5 brought the same high temperature, which is the highest recorded since the data sets began in 1979, according to USA Today. 

What is the hottest place on Earth?

While temperature seems self-explanatory, there are differences between surface temperature and air temperature. In 2021 the Lut Desert in Iran and the Sonoran Desert both recorded a scorching surface temperature of 177.4 degrees Fahrenheit (80.8 degrees Celsius), USA Today reported. 

However, in 1913 the Furnace Creek area of Death Valley reached 134.1 degrees Fahrenheit (56.7 degrees Celsius) air temperature, reaching the hottest air temperature on Earth.

What is the hottest place on Earth? This is the valley with the highest temperatures.

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