Temperature at California’s Death Valley reaches 130°F (54.4°C)

The temperature at California’s Death Valley reached 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 degrees Celsius) on Sunday afternoon, making it one of the highest temperatures ever recorded on Earth, forecasters say.

Data from the National Weather Service showed that a temperature of 130 degrees was recorded at the Furnace Creek weather station at 3:41 p.m. PT. The humidity was 7 percent with gusts up to 6 miles (9.6 km) per hour.

The data is preliminary and will be investigated by both the National Center for Enviromental Information and the World Meteorological Organization. If confirmed, it would make it the third highest temperature ever recorded.

Furnace Creek, a small community which serves as the headquarters of Death Valley National Park, already holds the record for the world’s highest temperature ever recorded: 56.7°C (134°F) on July 10, 1913. However, some have questioned the accuracy of old temperature records.

Highest temperatures ever recorded

• 56.7°C / 134°F
  Death Valley, California, on July 10, 1913
• 55.0°C / 131°F
  Kebili, Tunisia, in July 1931
• 54.4°C / 130°F (subject to verification)
  Death Valley, California, on August 16, 2020
• 53.9°C / 129°F
  Mitribah, Kuwait, on July 21, 2016
• 53.7°C / 129 °F
  Turbat, Pakistan, on 28 May 2017