Inside Coober Pedy: The Australian desert town where thousands escaped 50°C heat by building an entire underground world beneath the Earth

Far beyond the green edges of Australia’s coastal cities, a strange landscape appears in the middle of the outback. Low hills of pale earth rise from the red desert, scattered across the horizon like unfinished sculptures. They are not ancient ruins or natural formations, but traces of a town built around one of Australia’s most unusual industries. Beneath this harsh landscape, thousands of tonnes of rock have been removed over decades, creating a place where homes, churches and businesses exist below ground. This is Coober Pedy, a remote settlement where living underground is not a curiosity but a practical response to one of the world’s toughest climates.Apart from comfort, underground living also saves money. Coober Pedy produces its own electricity, with 70% powered by wind and solar, but cooling above-ground homes can be extremely expensive. With summer temperatures exceeding 50°C, residents avoid huge air-conditioning costs by using the earth’s natural insulation beneath the desert.Coober Pedy, Australia: The hidden underground town created by opal miners Coober Pedy sits in South Australia’s desert, roughly 850km north of Adelaide. At first sight, it looks like a typical out...