In which desert was the highest land surface temperature recorded?

In which desert was the highest land surface temperature recorded? The answer is the Lut Desert.

Iran's Lut Desert, also called Dasht-e Lut, has produced the highest-known land-surface temperature measured by satellite. NASA's MODIS instrument recorded a surface temperature of 70.7°C in 2005, identifying the desert as an exceptional terrestrial hot spot.

This question refers to the temperature of the ground, not the surrounding air. Satellites measure the heat radiated from the surface, which can become dramatically hotter than air temperatures near the surface. Later analysis of newer MODIS data reported an even higher Lut Desert land-surface value of 80.83°C in 2019.

That distinction explains a frequent mix-up with Death Valley. Death Valley holds the famous official record for directly measured air temperature: 56.7°C at Furnace Creek in 1913. It is therefore often called the world's hottest place, but the Lut Desert is the canonical answer when the wording specifically says land-surface temperature. The desert became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016.