The Big Picture: Extreme Earth

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Few places are more extreme than the Gobi desert where temperatures can range between -30 and +40 degrees Celsius. But the snow leopard has made its home here. This rare and intimate view of a mother and cubs reminds us that the extremes still hold some of planet Earth’s greatest secrets and most spectacular natural wonders. In this episode we are taken to places where life exists on a knife edge. What was the most challenging sequence to film in such extremes? NASA Global Climate Change - Extreme Makeover: Human Activities Are Making Some Extreme Events More Frequent or Intense The aptly named Death Valley, in California, USA, is one of the hottest places in the world. The highest temperature ever, 56.7°C (134°F), was recorded there at Greenland Ranch on 10 July 1913.

The heaviest hailstones on record weighed up to 1.02 kg (2 lb 3.9 oz). The grapefruit-sized hailstones were reported to have killed 92 people in the Gopalganj area of Bangladesh on 14 April 1986. Most hailstorms in a year

The Indian state of Kerala experienced multiple showers of red rain between 25 July to 23 September 2001, making the region the first and only place on Earth where it has occurred on three consecutive months. Tornadoes are much smaller than hurricanes and last for a shorter duration, however, they produce higher wind speeds. Radar data, footage and other weather observations confirmed that this was a true fire tornado rather than a fire whirl. Measuring nearly half a kilometre across at its base and moving at around 30 km/h, it was strong enough to toss cars, de-roof houses and scorch everything in its path. Largest forest wildfire (single fire) Perhaps surprisingly to some, the most hailstorms in a year occur in the Kericho Hills region of Kenya. This area receives hailstorms around 132 days each year, on average.

IPCC Assessment Report 6 – Working Group II – Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and VulnerabilityTypically, the length of lightning bolts is around 9 km (5.5 mi) or below. Longest lasting lightning flash Death Valley also holds the record for hottest month (single location). Between 1 July and 31 July 2018, the average daily temperature was 42.3°C (108.1°F), based on readings taken at a weather station near the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. Greatest temperature range in a day