While we are unfortunately back to our typical British weather with rain and thunder making an appearance again, in California the hottest temperature ever reported on Earth could have been reached on Sunday after Death Valley reached a scorching high of 54.4C (130F).
Death Valley is the well-known desert valley in the northern Mojave Desert in eastern California, bordering the Great Basin Desert. It’s documented as one of the hottest places on Earth along with Middle East and Sahara deserts.
The National Weather Service tweeted the possible record-breaking temperature and said it had exceeded the previous record for Death Valley in August.
The weather service on the day warned of ‘blistering, widespread excessive heat across the west,’ and staff at the park told visitors to “Drink plenty of water and carry extra. Avoid hiking (after 10 am). Travel prepared to survive.”
The Greenland Ranch reported a temperature of 56.7C (134F) on 10 July 1913, however many have doubted the accuracy of that reading.
The 1913 record was placed after the WMO removed the previous record of 58C set in September 1922 in Libya. Specialists said the reading in Libya was incorrect because of human error, the type of thermometer used to read the temperature and the inaccuracies with other temperatures in the region.