Hot weather is the enemy of the productive. What could have been a great day of work outdoors turns into an all-out fight to avoid sunlight. We sprint indoors, crank the air conditioning up to patently dangerous levels, and do everything possible to ensure that the endless outdoor heat doesn’t manage to reach the living room.
Still, there are places on earth where extreme heat isn’t just a one-off occurrence, but a regular event. From tropical megacities to arid desert civilizations, we’re tracked down ten major cities that receive extreme heat on a regular basis. If you’re not a fan of the sun, note these ten destinations down on your ‘do-not-visit’ travel list.
1. Jazan City, Saudi Arabia
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Jazan City is a port on Saudi Arabai’s Red Sea coast, and unlike many of the other cities we’ve featured, it’s populated by less than 2 million people. The ultra-hot city may not boast the most ridiculous summer temperatures, but its year-round heat makes it one of the most consistently warm in the world.
2. Bangkok, Thailand
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While Bangkok doesn’t experience the world’s most extreme summer temperatures, it is the world’s hottest city when it comes to year-round intense heat. Temperatures in the Thai capital routinely rise above 40C during the day, with night-time temperatures hovering at similar levels.
Bangkok’s notorious smog is also a problem for those with heat aversion. The megacity’s well-known air pollution traps hot air within the city center, causing daytime humidity and heat that catches many tourists off guard.
3. Las Vegas, Nevada
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Situated in the middle of Nevada’s arid desert, Las Vegas experiences temperature extremes like no other US city. Daytime summer temperatures often reach 40°C and occasionally even higher, with the crisp desert heat proving a problem for unprepared tourists and week-long bender participants.
While not the hottest city in North America, Las Vegas is located very close to the hottest location in the entire Western Hemisphere: California’s Death Valley. In 1911, temperature gauges at the park recorded a daytime high of 134°F (56.7C) – just one degree short of the world record.
4. Hong Kong, China
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Hong Kong isn’t the world’s hottest city. As a matter of fact, it wouldn’t even break the top ten in a list of the world’s hottest points. However, when combined with the city’s legendary humidity, this sauna-style tropical city is one of the world’s most extreme and uncomfortable, especially during its ultra-moist wet season.
Just how bad is it? Bad enough for Hong Kong’s residents to devise specific paths to every possible destination, each of which is designed to follow through as many air conditioned shopping malls as possible. While daytime temperatures tend to fall around 30°C, this ultra-humid Chinese megacity feels more like a steam room than an international metropolis.
5. Mexicali, Mexico
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Baja California is home to some truly extreme temperatures, and Mexicali is the city at the center of it all. This metropolis of over one million residents hits 40°C on many summer days, with ultra-hot periods boosting temperatures well above what most residents would consider comfortable.
Due to its inland desert-style location, Mexicali attracts some of the hottest temperatures recorded in Baja California. While Los Angeles, San Diego, and other major population centers along North America’s west coast enjoy year-round warmth, Mexicali’s slight inland placement keeps it free of the Pacific Ocean’s regulated temperature.
6. Melbourne, Australia
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Melbourne is a slight climate anomaly, largely due to its unusual placement between Australia’s cool Southern Ocean coast and the country’s world famous outback areas. While Melbourne doesn’t experience the year-round heat of Darwin, Singapore, or Bangkok, it does experience some summer temperatures that would make even the most hardened outback resident blush.
For example, the February 2009 heatwave saw Melbourne’s temperature exceed 46.4°C – an Australian state capital record. Most months don’t result in a scramble for the air conditioners, as Melbourne’s year-round average temperature is just 19.8°C – a mere 68°F.
7. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Kuala Lumpur is known for its amazing skyline, huge dining variety, great shopping, and multi-cultural nature. Unfortunately, many visitors remember it for only one thing: the sweltering year-round heat and humidity. Thanks to Kuala Lumpur’s placement almost directly on the equator, the city experiences some of the most intense heat and humidity that Earth has to offer.
While maximum temperatures have never exceeded 37°C, Kuala Lumpur’s 30°C median temperature says a lot about the city. If you’re planning a trip to Malaysia’s large and interesting capital, it might be best to carry a little less clothing than you planned for.
8. Phoenix, Arizona
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Phoenix is the United States’ fifth largest city, and by far its hottest, according to information put out by the US Weather Channel. Situated on the edge of Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, temperatures in the city exceed 40°C during the summer, with daytime heat driving many of the city’s residents out of the sun and into their air conditioned homes and offices.
9. Athens, Greece
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While Athens was once known for its intense pollution, it’s emerged as a European leader in another category: extreme heat. The Greek capital experiences summertime temperatures in excess of 40°C, and has laid claim to Europe’s all-time temperature record with a July recording of 48°C.
Adding to the problem is the city’s smog. While improved from its 1970s peak, Athens is still shrouded in grey mist on occasion, reducing the city’s ability to moderate temperatures effectively.
10. Cairo, Egypt
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Situated on the banks of the famous Nile River, Cairo is the largest city in Africa and one of the hottest major cities in the world. Due to its placement alongside a major river, Cairo receives both the heat of the major Arabian deserts and the humidity of the Nile River Delta. That means a combination of intense desert heat, often in excess of 40°C, and extreme humidity is on the cards for Cairo’s summertime residents.
Despite Western Australia’s status as one of Australia’s most consistently hot geographical areas, the State’s education board has decided to limit the number of air conditioners installed in new school buildings and existing classrooms. The policy is in line with other state cost-saving measures, including reduced school resources and completing more schools, rather than upgrading existing classrooms.
Malaysia’s ‘cheapest’ hotel – the Air Asia branded ‘Tune Hotels’ – offer an interesting pricing model. Rooms are incredibly inexpensive – often very close to free – and offer minimal comforts. Air conditioning, excess electricity, and other ‘luxuries’ are charged on their own, with visitors presented a bill upon checkout.
After 2009’s wet summer and major winter storms, Britain is overdue for a heatwave. Climate prediction group Positive Weather Solutions, who correctly predicted last year’s weather conditions, are warning Britons that summer temperatures may exceed 38°C. Despite having just five employees, the weather group has correctly predicted and identified major weather patterns and unusual events, such as 2009’s “big freeze” winter.
Hong Kong is the skyscraper capital of the world, and the giant HSBC Building certainly keeps up with its image. Constructed, like the Lloyds Building, with the air conditioning ducts on the outside, this innovative high-tech structure uses air conditioning as a major design feature. Love it or hate it, this cool construction method has drawn praise from architects and energy efficiency experts alike.
an air conditioning system, especially with regards to power usage and electrical efficiency. From basic filter mistakes to major errors in air conditioning unit placement, air conditioning blunders can cost a lot of money and cause even more problems.