Why is the hottest place not the equator?

What is the hottest place on Earth? A lot of people think that the equator is the hottest place, because the area of ​​the equatorial sun shines all year round. Actually, the hottest place is not the equator.

If you don't believe it, look up the world meteorological records. In Asia, Africa, Australia and South North America, you can spot a lot of deserts very far away from the equator, and the daytime temperatures there are much hotter than the equator. According to records, the highest temperature in the equatorial region rarely exceeds 35 ° C, while in the Xahara desert Africa, the highest daytime temperature to 55 ° C, generally above 40 ° C. In the Arabian desert, the highest daytime temperature is 45 - 50 ° C. China's Gyan Desert has the highest daytime temperature of about 45 ° C.

Picture 1 of Why is the hottest place not the equator?
The hottest place during the day is not in the equator, but in the desert.

The equatorial region receives the most sunlight, so why not the hottest place?
Open the world map and see clearly: the equatorial belt is mostly sea . The Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Oceans are all in the equator.

The equatorial sea is vast, it has a different feature from the continent, which can transfer heat down deep. At the same time evaporating seawater requires a lot of heat consumption, plus a large heat capacity of seawater, so the water temperature rises more slowly than on the ground. Therefore, daytime temperature in the equatorial region increases slowly, and in the desert the situation is completely different. There is sparse vegetation, no water, heat capacity of soil, small sand, so the temperature increases rapidly.

The soil itself, sand and heat transfer is poor, heat is difficult to transfer to the bottom. When the surface sand was very hot, the bottom layer of sand was still cool, plus the desert did not have water evaporating to drain the heat, so when the Sun stood glossy, the temperature in the desert increased very quickly, the face the sand is scorching hot.

In addition, clouds and rain on the equator are much more than in the desert. Everyday there is rain. Thus, the afternoon temperature will not increase anymore, and in the sunny desert all day, very little rain. Therefore afternoon temperatures continue to rise. So the hottest part of the day is not in the equator, but in the desert .

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