Death Valley in the US state of California has recorded the highest temperature ever recorded in the world. On Sunday, August 18, the temperature here reached 130 degrees Fahrenheit or 54.4 degrees Celsius.
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.
This is considered to be the highest temperature on earth so far, the BBC reported. The U.S. National Weather Service recorded the temperature in Death Valley at 3.41pm last Sunday. And it has never been so hot in August.
Earlier, Death Valley recorded a maximum temperature of 54 degrees Celsius in 2013. Although a temperature of 56.7 degrees Celsius was recorded here a century ago, there is room for doubt.
The North African country of Tunisia also recorded a temperature of 55 degrees Celsius in 1931. However, in 2016, meteorologist Christopher Burt expressed doubts about the veracity of these records. That’s why the 54.4 degrees Celsius recorded in Death Valley on Sunday is considered to be the highest temperature on Earth.
The highest temperature recorded on Earth has been measured in 3 major ways: air, ground, and via satellite observation. The former of the three is used as the standard measurement due to persistent issues with unreliable ground and satellite readings. Air measurements are noted by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and Guinness World Records among others as the standard to be used for determining the official record.
Scientists also identified a number of contributors which affects the extreme heat:
- Solar Heating
- Trapping of warm air
- Migration of warm air from other areas
- Warm mountain winds
