I have been searching for the above answer for more than 25 years.
I am providing a map of Australia for comparison
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/maps/averages/evaporation/
Is evaporation rate 4000 mm/year the highest recorded in the world?
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1$\begingroup$ Without any research, would think pan evaporation rate is basically a factor of incoming energy (a main energy source for evaporation) and relative humidity (how much space there is for moisture to evaporate) (and probably temperature (both an extra energy and key in how much water can be held)). So highest pan would be the desert areas with the highest temperatures, lowest cloud coverage percentages, and greatest insolation. So I'd think the Sahara and Arabian are likely the greatest competition for places to look. $\endgroup$– JeopardyTempestJul 29 at 20:43
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$\begingroup$ Do note (not sure if you're aware), this isn't how much water is actually evaporated in those locations, but how much would be evaporated if/where water is available. Because there's very limited water sources in such places, such places are some of the lowest around in terms of actual evaporation (and so the air stays dry). A cup of tea or a creek will dry most rapidly in such spots. But the locations as a whole aren't doing a lot of evaporating, because there isn't much surface area available to evaporate at all. $\endgroup$– JeopardyTempestJul 29 at 20:46
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$\begingroup$ Ah yes, wind can add a key factor in evaporation too. Global Wind Atlas seems to suggest the Sahara is probably stout competition to the Great Sandy there as well $\endgroup$– JeopardyTempestJul 29 at 20:55
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1$\begingroup$ As @JeopardyTempest mentioned, this is rather about potential evaporation, not about actual evapotranspiration. But if you're interested in the spatial distribution of global potential evaporation estimates, maybe have a look at Zomer er al. 2022. $\endgroup$– dimfalkOct 2 at 11:56
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