The 10 Hottest Workplaces in the World
You may feel the heat at work on those sweltering days where temperatures are unseasonably high, and the call goes out to switch on the aircon or send out for some portable cooling units. Spare a thought, however, for people who work in some of the world’s hottest cities. Whether sweating in the open air, or sheltering in air conditioned offices, here’s the top ten list of scorching business locations:
1. Kuwait City, Kuwait. Probably the hottest city in the world. Unless you visit this Arabian metropolis in early spring or late autumn, you’ll face an average daily temperature of 46.9 °C. So spare a thought for this city’s thousands of workers – many of who don’t have the luxury of portable cooling hire or aircon.
2. Ahwaz, Kuwait. Kuwait’s second city almost scales the searing average heights of our number one spot – but exceeds Kuwait City when it comes to extremes in temperature. In July 2000, average temperatures of 48.1 were recorded.
3. Jizan City, Saudia Arabia. Still in the Arabian peninsula, Saudi’s Red Sea port city houses just under two million people, who regularly face temperatures of between 30 °C and 40°C for most of the year.
4. Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand is a hot country to begin with, but the heavy air pollution in its capital causes smog, trapping the heat and humidity and making the whole place a major sweatbox. Average temperatures are 40°C – and remain so all day.
5. Aziziya, Libya. This city in the midst of the Sahara Desert is both hot and dry. Temperatures can soar to extremes – on September 13, 1922, a record high of 57.8°C was recorded!
6. Illizi, Algeria. Similarly, this North African city recorded a record temperature of 51°C on August 18, 2011.
7. Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Famous for being the destination of the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage, Mecca is also a scorching city, with temperatures regularly reaching 37°C and even hitting 43°C in June. The fact that there’s only a dozen or so days of rainfall each year doesn’t help either.
8. Marrakech, Morocco. Although temperatures and weather conditions are milder in the first couple of months of the year, with plenty of rain, once summer hits expect highs of around 38°C.
9. Las Vegas, Nevada. This is a desert city, with temperatures reaching 35°C in this city in July and spikes of up to 41°C between June and August. Record temperatures of 46.7°C were noted on July 24, 1985.
10. Dallol, Ethiopia. Between 1960 and 1966 temperatures remained at an average 34.4°C, although the city record stands at 48.9°C.
Remember, that when things get hot, it’s time to call in the air conditioning team!
