AbstractThe molecular clouds in the Central Molecular Zone of our Galaxy (CMZ; inner ~200 pc) show systematically higher gas than dust temperatures (>50 K vs <30 K) in recent H₂CO line and dust continuum surveys. This discrepancy is puzzling since gas and dust temperatures should become equal over short times at the high densities observed in these clouds. In deep H₂CO(3–2) and (4–3) observations of seven clouds in the CMZ, we detected not only large temperature differences between the clouds but also large gradients within the clouds. Comparing the temperatures and the main H₂CO lines at 218 and 291 GHz, we found a positive correlation between those two parameters, indicating that turbulence plays an important role in the heating of the gas. As a follow-up, we mapped the temperature tracers CH₃CCH and CH₃CN in these seven clouds to derive multiple temperature estimates and test the accuracy of high gas temperatures.