Death Valley High Of 130 Degrees May Be Hottest Day In 107 Years

DEATH VALLEY, CA — Death Valley lived up to its name Sunday when officials at the national park there recorded a scorching high of 130 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s the hottest temperature recorded on Earth in the better part of a century, according to the National Weather Service.

A weeklong heat wave is wreaking havoc on the West Coast, and officials expect that Monday’s high could be just as hot. The 130-degree high was recorded at 3:41 p.m. Sunday by an automated device at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center.

“If verified, this will be the hottest temperature officially verified since July of 1913, also at Death Valley," the National Weather Service said in a statement. "As this is an extreme temperature event, the recorded temperature will need to undergo a formal review.”

The announcement instantly triggered debate in meteorological circles.

According to the National Weather Service, the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 134 degrees, also recorded in Death Valley in 1913. However, the World Meteorological Organization refutes that record, noting a temperature of 131 degrees was recorded in Tunisia in 1931.

“This would be the hottest global temperature officially recorded since 1931,” the World Meteorological Organization tweeted.

The National Weather Service cast doubt on the Tunisian heat record.

"If validate the 130° F yesterday would tie for the 3rd most reliably measured, all-time global high temperature and will be the hottest temperature officially verified since July of 1913, also at Death Valley," the weather service countered.

According to the National Weather Service, the previous records — all in Death Valley — are:

• 134°F - Jul 10, 1913
• 131°F - Jul 13, 1913
• 130°F - Jul 12, 1913

One matter not up for debate is the danger posed by such extreme heat. A human being could not survive long in 130-degree heat without access to water and shade.

Death Valley National Park is warning would-be visitors to “Travel prepared to survive.”

Located in the northern Mojave Desert 282 feet below sea level, Death Valley is frequently the hottest place in the United States, and even the planet, on a given summer day.

Over the past months and years, Death Valley National Park has set a number of daily and monthly heat records, according to park officials. Extreme heat is nothing new to the smattering of people who live and work around Death Valley.

“Working at a park that is the hottest place on Earth is really exciting,” said Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds. “We definitely come together as a community to celebrate these records and the uniqueness of living here but also quickly learn not to touch metal surfaces, like car doors, that have been out in the sun.”