Weather
The temperature at Furnace Creek, Death Valley reached 130ºF yesterday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), making it the hottest temperature recorded on earth in almost a century and the hottest August temperature ever recorded.
As it stands, before being officially verified, it is earth’s hottest temperature since 1931, the hottest August temperature ever recorded, and the third-highest temperature ever reliably recorded, and maybe the highest.
“Everything I’ve seen so far indicates that is a legitimate observation. I am recommending that the World Meteorological Organisation preliminarily accept the observation.”
– Randy Cerveny, head of weather and climate extremes team
The highest temperature ever recorded on earth was 134ºF, also at Death Valley, back in 1913, although climate experts have since questioned this, claiming it’s “essentially not possible from a meteorological perspective”.
The 129ºF readings recorded in Death Valley on June 30, 2013, and in Kuwait and Pakistan in 2016 and 2017, are regarded by many climatologists as the highest ever reliably measured temperatures on the planet, reports SF Gate. That would mean that Sunday’s 130ºF temperature would surpass them as the highest measured.
Sunday’s 130ºF reading, if verified, will be the world’s highest temperature officially recorded since 1931, and the third-highest since 1873. The only two higher measurements include the disputed 1913 Death Valley reading and a 131-degree reading from Kebili, Tunisia, set July 7, 1931. This is considered Africa’s hottest recorded temperature but also has “serious credibility issues”.
A historic heatwave has struck the western US, with records being set across California on Sunday. Palmdale and Lancaster airports both hit 111°F, LAX International Airport 93°F, and Paso Robles Airport tied its record for the month at 114°F.
Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. It is one of the hottest places on Earth, along with deserts in the Middle East and the Sahara.
Death Valley’s Badwater Basin is the point of the lowest elevation in North America, at 282 feet below sea level. It is 84.6 miles (136.2 km) east-southeast of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States, with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m).
