Hottest temperature on Earth in 100 years recorded in California’s Death Valley
- Searing measurement of 54.5 degrees Celsius could be highest in planet’s history
- Last month was the world’s third-hottest July on record, and three of the hottest ever Julys all occurred within last five years
The hottest air temperature recorded anywhere on the planet in at least a century, and possibly ever, was reached in Death Valley in California’s Mojave Desert on Sunday afternoon where it soared to 54.4 degrees Celsius (130 degrees Fahrenheit).
An automated observation system run by the US National Weather Service at Furnace Creek reported the record at 3.41pm local time.
It was a dry heat: humidity fell to 7 per cent. But it felt “insanely hot” all the same, according to meteorologist Daniel Berc, who is based in the NWS Las Vegas bureau and forecast that the heatwave would continue all week.
“It’s literally like being in an oven,” he said in a telephone interview. “Today is another day we could take another run at 130 Fahrenheit.”
A temperature of 56.7 degrees Celsius (134 degrees Fahrenheit) was recorded in Death Valley in July 1913. Some meteorologists dispute the older record, however, with recent research pointing to the likelihood it was the result of observer error.
“That’s an official record until it’s debunked through the scientific process and accepted by the World Meteorological Organisation,” Berc said.