TEHRAN - The desert area of Rig Yelan in Iran’s South Khorasan province, where a temperature of 73.5°C was recorded on 17 July 2022, is the hottest place on Earth, the provincial tourism chief has said.

According to the final results of scientific research, the hottest spot on Earth was recorded in Rig Yelan of the Lut Desert with a ground temperature of 73.5 degrees, IRNA quoted Hadi Shahverdi as saying on Saturday.

Recording the hottest spot on the earth in South Khorasan can be the source of charm in the field of tourism, the official said.

According to local officials, it was the first time that a team of experts inside South Khorasan started measuring Lut’s temperature.

Also called Dasht-e Lut (“Emptiness Plain”), the salt desert is encircled by the provinces of Kerman and Sistan- Baluchestan, and South Khorasan. Seven years of satellite temperature data analyzed by NASA showed Lut’s Gandom Beryan region was the hottest spot on Earth, with a temperature of 70.7°C in 2005.

Lut has been described in the past as a place of ‘no life’ and information on the biological resources in this area is limited. Nevertheless, the property possesses flora and fauna adapted to the harsh conditions, including an interesting, adapted insect fauna, the UN body said.

The wintertime is itself a perfect excuse for a vacation but to some people, visiting a desert region sounds like “something else”. Some visitors to Lut say it feels almost like walking across a seabed without water.

AFM