‘Aziziya

‘Aziziya العزيزية
‘Aziziya Location in Libya
Coordinates: 32°31′51″N 13°01′16″E / 32.53083°N 13.02111°E / 32.53083; 13.02111
Country	Libya
Region	Tripolitania
District	Jafara
Elevation[1]	390 ft (119 m)
Population (2004)[1]
• Total	287,407
Time zone	UTC + 2

‘Aziziya /əˈziːziːə/ (Arabic: العزيزية‎ ʿAziziya), sometimes spelled El Azizia, is a city and the capital of the Jafara district in northwestern Libya, 41 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of Tripoli. Before 2001 it was in the ‘Aziziya District and its capital. ‘Aziziya is a major trade centre of the Sahel Jeffare plateau, being on a trade route from the coast to the Nafusa Mountains and the Fezzan region to the south. As of 2004, the city's population has been estimated at over 280,000.^[1]

Geography and climate

On 13 September 1922, a high temperature of 57.8°C (136°F) was recorded in ‘Aziziya, which is the highest temperature ever measured on Earth.^[2]

However, that reading is controversial:^[3][4]

1. The weather station was at first in 'Aziziya town, but in 1919 it was moved to a hilltop fort, where the weather station was set up on black tarmac, which would have absorbed more sunlight and made the air there artificially hotter, explaining a period of very hot readings there from 1919 to 1928.
2. Shortly before the 13 September 1922 record reading, the weather station's usual maximum thermometer had been damaged, and replaced by an uncalibrated ordinary maximum-minimum thermometer such as often used in greenhouses.

This record does not mean that ‘Aziziya is the hottest place on Earth; that title belongs to Dallol, Ethiopia, where the mean temperature is 34.4°C (94°F). If the record was not the actual temperature, then the hottest temperature is 56.7°C (134°F) which has been recorded in 1913 in Death Valley, California in the United States.

Notes

Coordinates: 32°31′51″N 13°01′16″E / 32.53083°N 13.02111°E / 32.53083; 13.02111