Janice R. Andrews
As summer comes to a close, Death Valley, California, still holds the record for the world’s hottest temperature, which has been broken more than 100 years ago. Earth recently had its hottest day, month, and year, but the record for sweltering heat set in Death Valley in 1913 has not been broken. As of Saturday, the true end of summer, it looks less likely than ever that this year’s notorious temperature record will be broken.
Death Valley’s Legendary Heat
The high temperature is said to have been 134 degrees Fahrenheit, which was recorded on a very hot July day in 1913. This very high temperature was recorded in Furnace Creek, which is known for being very hot in Death Valley National Park, which is famous for having very bad weather. Even though California had the hottest July on record this summer, Death Valley’s temperature was still a long way below its all-time high.
This record is very interesting and controversial because, unlike many of Earth’s recent heat records, which are made up of many temperature readings from around the world, Death Valley’s record is based on a single reading from a single place and time. This one-of-a-kind quality adds to its mystery and the ongoing argument over whether it is true.
There is some disagreement about the record.
The number of 134 degrees from 1913 has been a point of debate among meteorologists and climatologists for a long time. According to some experts, that high of a temperature might not have been even possible at that time because of the weather. Christopher Burt, a weather expert, says that the temperatures recorded in Death Valley during the heatwave from July 7–14, 1913, don’t match up with what was seen in the weather. He thinks that the area did not experience a major storm that could have caused such a high temperature.
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), on the other hand, still says that the 134-degree reading is the world record. The WMO says that a sandstorm at the time might have caused materials that were already very hot to change the reading, which could explain the very high temperature.
This argument isn’t just in Death Valley. In 2012, the WMO publicly discredited a reading of 136.4 degrees Fahrenheit in Libya in 1922, saying that the data was inconsistent and the methods used to measure were not dependable. This discrediting has made people even less sure about long-held heat records, like the one in Death Valley.
Understanding the Limits of Earth’s Temperature
It’s hard to say what the Earth’s highest possible temperature is. Randy Cerveny, a climate scientist with the WMO, says that 134 degrees might be close to the highest temperature our planet can reach, but the exact highest temperature is still unknown. According to Paul Loikith, an associate professor of geography at Portland State University, “there is no easily defined physical limit on how hot it can get on Earth.” This means that it is hard to use a possible upper range.
At the moment, experts use computer models to guess what the future climate will be like and what weather extremes might happen. These models haven’t fully looked into the high limits of Earth’s warming potential yet, though. Because of this doubt, temperatures could get even higher in other parts of the world than they were in Death Valley, especially in places where there aren’t many or any weather monitors.
Why it’s So Hot in Death Valley
Death Valley is known as one of the hottest places on Earth in part because of its unique geography and temperature. In July, Death Valley usually has some of the hottest and coldest summers in North America, if not the whole world. The average daily high temperature is 115 degrees Fahrenheit, and the average daily low temperature is 87 degrees Fahrenheit. Because the valley is shaped like a bowl and is below sea level, it creates a natural oven effect where hot air gets trapped and gets stronger when the pressure is high.
Death Valley has record-breaking temps, but the weather is very stable. temps stay in the triple digits from mid-May to early October. To hit or go over 134 degrees, though, it takes more than just normal summer heat. It takes a very special set of weather conditions, like a very strong upper-level high-pressure system. These high-pressure systems, which are linked to dry, hot weather, squeeze and heat the air as it falls, making Death Valley famous for its unbearably hot conditions.
Why the Record Has Not Been Broken
Many records were set around the world for long periods of extreme heat and high temperatures in the summer of 2024, but the exact conditions needed to break Death Valley’s 134-degree record have not yet come together. “The upper highs over California in July haven’t been record-strong so much as relentless,” said Yale Climate Connections meteorologist Bob Henson. A lot of places and towns in California have had their hottest month ever because of the constant heat. Things were bad, but not bad enough to cause Death Valley temperatures to reach record-breaking highs.
This event brings to light an important feature of extreme weather: the fact that the variables needed to set new temperature marks are very rare and specific. Breaking a new world record requires a combination of factors that only come together very rarely, even in Death Valley, where it is always hot. As climate change caused by humans continues to raise temperatures around the world, usually mild places may break their own records instead of established hotspots like Death Valley setting new marks.
What’s Next for Extreme Heat Records
Even though there is still debate about Death Valley’s 134-degree record, scientists are still trying to figure out what high temperatures mean for the world as a whole in a world that is warming. “What we do know is that the range of possible weather on Earth or for any one location is much larger than we typically experience,” Loikith said. Extreme events may happen too infrequently or too far apart for our current weather record to catch. This means that the highest temperature Earth can hit may still be a mystery.
The famous heat record in Death Valley will not be broken for another year, but people are still trying to figure out how hot the Earth can get. Predicting and getting ready for these extreme events is getting harder and harder as global warming gets worse. Death Valley is still the hottest place on Earth for now, but the question of how much hotter it can get is still open and may now be more important than ever.
