I don’t know about you but it is always a dismaying feeling when I have to root through my drawers to find my warmest pair of pyjamas in order to prevent myself from becoming a human ice-block in the night. Yes the dreaded winter weather is upon us and as I stepped out of my door this morning, wrapped up to within an inch of my life watching my own breath before me, it certainly had me thinking of escaping to warmer climes.

Temperatures will remain low this week and dare I say there may even be chance of snow?! It’s hard to think a couple of weeks ago the country experienced a heat wave. Let’s face it – things won’t be heating up any time soon. So it got me thinking, where in the world would really warm me up? I asked around my travel expert friends here at Travel Counsellors and here is a lowdown of some of the hottest places on the planet. And let’s put it this way. You certainly wouldn’t need to be fishing around for your warmest pair of PJs!

We doubt many people would dare to venture to El Azizia, in northern Africa, which recorded scorching temperatures of 66°C in 1922! In fact a third of the world’s land is deserted, mostly hot, dry deserts in which life has little to no chance of surviving. These deserts are some of the hottest places in the world. Libya, where El Azizia is located, is a definite hotspot due to a burning sandy wind called ghibli, which often appears without warning and can raise the temperature by 20°C in just a couple of hours. Hmmm… think we might give that one a miss! Add to that the destination of ‘Death Valley’, which encompasses a good portion of both Nevada and California and if the name is anything to go by we may pass on a trip there too as in this scorching desert location temperatures can reach a whopping 56.6°C. Now that’s hot!

Obviously these places are uninhabited and for good reason. In the words of many an Englishman when they step off the plane onto foreign soil… “now I like it hot, but not this hot”. So what about places where people can enjoy the warm weather? Of all inhabited areas, some of the hottest places in the world include Mali and Tunisia, where temperatures routinely reach 54.4°C. And let’s spare a thought for the locals in these sweltering destinations, as quite often air conditioning is a luxury that only the rich can afford! Something to think about next time I complain about having to put on another layer.

Fair play some places are just too hot. But let’s face it, at the moment the UK is just too cold. To quote one of my favourite childhood bedtime stories “I want one that’s just right”. And there are plenty!

The Mediterranean starts cooling down straight after the summer months, with the exception of Cyprus, which enjoys an extended hot summer from April to November, making Cyprus a perfect hot holiday destination to visit during October, with the average temperature at a lovely 21°C. If you’d rather travel further afield to your own tropical paradise this is a great time to soak up the sun in luxurious destinations such as Mauritius or the Maldives with temperatures reaching around 30°C. If you fancy a city break in warmer climes the average October temperature in Dubai is 29°C with the destination boasting beautiful beaches, luxurious resorts and plenty of scope for die hard shoppers. Just be sure to pack the factor 50!

Well I don’t know about you but I feel practically warmer already. All that’s left is to decide where I will be escaping to. But I do know one thing for sure. I will be leaving my woolly pyjamas behind.