Everyone knows that Death Valley is scorchingly hot. Otherwise it’d be called Paradise Valley. But the hottest and driest desert valley in the US isn’t resting on its laurels, having just recorded what might be the highest temperature ever registered on planet Earth — 130 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature recorded on Sunday, August 16, is still being verified by the World Meteorological Organization.
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The Hottest Temperature on Earth May Have Just Been Recorded in Death Valley
According to the National Weather Service, “This temperature was measured at Furnace Creek near the Visitors Center using a National Weather Service owned automated observation system. This observed high temperature is considered preliminary and not yet official.”
🥵Yep it was HOT out there today…
So hot in fact, that the PRELIMINARY high temperature @DeathValleyNPS was 130°F. If verified, this will be the hottest temperature officially verified since July of 1913. For more info…https://t.co/qFXcIVoPig#DeathValley #Climate #CAwx pic.twitter.com/lAl8NQDCyp
— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) August 17, 2020
The temperature was recorded in the midst of a heatwave stretching from Arizona all the way up to Washington. And the heatwave hasn’t even hit its peak yet. That’s supposed to happen Monday or Tuesday, before temperatures eventually drop later this week.
Before the 130-degree reading, the highest temperature recorded on Earth was also in Death Valley in 1913 with 134 degrees Fahrenheit, though the veracity of that reading has been disputed. Similarly, a 131-degree reading was recorded in Tunisia in 1931, but there are some issues regarding its credibility. 