The Hottest Places on Earth

This episode journeys through the blistering heat of the planet’s most scorching regions, beginning with Death Valley’s record-breaking temperatures and moving to Iran’s Lut Desert—the hottest land surface ever measured. It explores Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression, where volcanic heat and sulfur pools create alien-like landscapes, and examines cities in Iraq and Kuwait struggling with extreme temperatures that push modern infrastructure to its limits. The Sahara Desert and Australia’s Outback reveal how nomadic cultures and indigenous communities survive through deep environmental knowledge. The episode highlights animal adaptations, including camels and desert foxes, and concludes by noting how climate change is making hot regions hotter, turning extreme heat into a growing global challenge.