The temperature reached 130 degrees Fahrenheit at the aptly named Furnace Creek weather station in Death Valley, Calif., last Sunday. This is the hottest temperature recorded by an instrument on Earth that is accepted by the World Meteorological Organization since 134 degrees was recorded at the Greenland Ranch station, also in Death Valley, in 1913. The World Meteorological Organization demands certain standards for instrument quality, calibration and sensibility in the ongoing meteorological weather pattern in order for a record to stand.
In 2012, the WMO disallowed the previous world record of 136 degrees made in El Azizia, Libya, in 1922, owing to the fact that surrounding measurements made that day were not unusually hot. The 1913 reading is under scrutiny for similar reasons. It simply does not fit well into what is known of the weather pattern in the region that day. If the 1913 record is eventually overruled, then Sunday's 130 degree reading will officially become the hottest temperature on Earth ever recorded by an instrument.
