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Think you're hot? Believe it or not, there are places MUCH hotter than what we're experiencing this week. First, there's Iraq... where the average temperature in July and August is 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Today's forecast for Iraq is 114 degrees. That should hold for the next two days, with 116 predicted for Saturday and then 118 for Sunday. Talk to any soldier wearing about 20 pounds of battle gear, and our situation pales in comparison.
Let's turn now to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. According to the BBC's five-day weather forecast, today should be a balmy 102 degrees, with temperatures going up to about 111 on Friday.
How about a little closer to home? Death Valley in California is one of the hottest places on earth. It's forecast to hold steady at 113 over the next five days. And sunny! In fact, the hottest temperature ever recorded in the U.S. was in Death Valley. In 1922, they hit an all time high of 134.
So why is Death Valley so, pardon the pun, deadly? According to NASA, "at 267 feet (86 meters) below sea level, air compresses as it moves down the lee slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains, substantially warming and drying it by the time it reaches the valley floor. At the bottom of this valley, daytime temperatures are routinely above 100 degrees F between about mid May through early October, and it's not unusual for temperatures during some summer days to crack 125 degrees. In July of 1913, when the official temperature was 134 F, a point somewhere in the valley may have surpassed 135 F."
In case you are wondering, the high today in Vostok, Antarctica, will be -52F. And in case you would like to look at something a little cooler, colder, and downright freezing: Here's a link to four live Web cams in Antarctica.
Tonight, Lisa Daniels and Tom Costello will report the latest on how we're all coping, or not coping, with the soaring temperatures.
And yes, I wrote this in an air-conditioned newsroom.
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An Israeli family's sacrifice
This belly aching over the weather strikes me as mildly hilarious. Every year there are black-outs in New York and California. Every year there are forest fires due to over dry conditions. Every year, the morgue in Chicago fill up with people. Yet this year people are crying and complaining as if its the end of the world. Not only is it 115, 120, 130 degrees in Iraq -- but many of those folks live in a constant black out. And have no air conditioning. And no way to escape the heat. When I flew into Baghdad in August 2003, the tarmac at the airport was melting beneath my feet. Now that is hot.
I'm glad that someone finally acknowledged that there are places on this earth that are hotter than 103 degrees.
MAF, Pittsburgh PA (Sent Aug 4, 2006 11:21:05 AM)
I find it iteresting that the state of montana is a tinder box with temps at or over 100 last week and the national press did not find the story about a rancher losing 70 sections and his ranch to a wild fire. and can only hope to find his cattle. We also experienced power outages. I really hope that all those people in New York can make it. We in Montana just keep helping each other and living
(Sent Aug 2, 2006 10:31:13 PM)
What a funny coincidence--asleep in my bedroom which was being "cooled" if you can call it that, by only a large fan--I dreamed about Antarctica last night. Wish fulfillment, maybe?
Olivia Elizabeth Burdon, Peoria, Ill. (Sent Aug 2, 2006 12:01:23 PM)
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