Iran’s Lut Desert is famous for recording some of Earth’s hottest measured land-surface temperatures.
The Lut, also called Dasht-e Lut, lies in southeastern Iran and contains extensive gravel plains, salt flats, sand dunes, and sharply eroded ridges known as kaluts. Satellite measurements by NASA’s MODIS instrument recorded an exceptionally high land-surface temperature there in 2005, although land-surface temperature is different from the air temperature measured by weather stations.
The desert’s extreme heat results from its dark, dry surface, clear skies, limited vegetation, and enclosed topography. Strong winds also shape its dunes and eroded formations. The Lut is not the same desert as Iran’s Dasht-e Kavir, which is better known for its broad salt desert in central Iran.
UNESCO added the Lut Desert to its World Heritage List in 2016 because of its dramatic geology and remarkable desert ecosystems. Organisms found there have adapted to intense heat, aridity, and large daily temperature changes.