Long-Standing World Heat Record Being Called Into Question

An all-time record high temperature that was set over a century ago is being put under the microscope. A new study reports that this famous record should be overturned. Read on for the details about this record and why it is suddenly being called into question.

Could the Hottest Temperature Ever Recorded on Earth be Overturned?

One of the most well-known weather records is Death Valley's claim to the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth. The record was set over 110 years ago in the desert of California when the area reportedly hit a scorching 134 degrees. This record has long been questioned by meteorologists, and now its validity is being further investigated.

The official record books note that the high of 134 degrees was recorded at Death Valley's Greenland Ranch on July 10, 1913. This reading currently holds the official world record for the hottest air temperatures ever measured near the surface of the ground. A new study published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society is now alleging that it was likely not this hot.

The latest study paired University of Alabama-Huntsville researchers Roy Spencer and John Christy with Death Valley climatologist William Reid to look at 102 years of July weather observations at various elevations near the area to estimate what the surface temperature would have likely been at Greenland Ranch under similar weather conditions as the date of the record. By looking at different changes in temperatures with different elevations, the research details that it was probably 12 to 16 degrees cooler than the assumed record of 134 degrees.