Al Aziziyah
Topic: Solar Radiation, Heat Balance and Temperature · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 11 "World Climate and Climate Change"
Meaning
Al Aziziyah (also spelt El Azizia) is a town in north-west Libya, in North Africa. A temperature of 58°C was reported there on 13 September 1922. For decades this was treated as the world's highest shade air temperature, and NCERT still gives it. In 2012, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) studied the reading again and rejected it as unreliable. The official world record is now 56.7°C, recorded at Death Valley, USA, on 10 July 1913.
Example
Al Aziziyah lies inland from Tripoli on Libya's hot, dry plains near the Sahara. An exam statement such as "El Azizia's 58°C is the world record" is now false. The correct answer is Death Valley in California, USA, at 56.7°C.
Don't confuse with
- Death Valley, USA: it holds the current official world record of 56.7°C (1913). Al Aziziyah's 58°C is no longer accepted.