Where is the hottest place on Earth? Death Valley boasts most extreme temperature on the planet
The desert valley in southeastern California broke the world record for the highest temperature in 2020, when 129.9 degrees fahrenheit was recorded.
Death Valley has seen some of the highest constant temperatures on the entire planet and has broken the historic record on multiple occasions. It is located in southeastern California, near the state’s border with Nevada.
This desert valley recorded what is considered to be the highest constant temperature anywhere in the world, an astonishing 129.9 fahrenheit (54.4 degrees celsius) on 16 August 2020. Seven years earlier temperature in the valley had reached 128.84 fahrenheit (53.8 degrees celsius).
It is also worth noting that in July 1931 a temperature of 131 fahrenheit (55 degrees) was recorded in Tunisia. However that figure is not considered reliable by many experts because the measurement mechanisms of the time did not have the same precision as today.
An extreme place turned into a tourist destination
Death Valley was declared a National Park in 1994 and since then roughly a million people visit it every year to take in the stunning desert landscape and experience what it’s like to spend a few hours in one of the most extreme places on the planet.
It is a place without mobile coverage, due in part the heat. Mobile technology struggles to function in the extreme conditions and the remote location means there is no wired alternative. The only support for tourists in Death Valley is a map.
One must-see spot for Death Valley tourists is the Badwater Basin, located 85.5 meters below sea level. It is the lowest point in North America and its surface is covered by a thick layer of salt. Precipitation is almost non-existent in this basin, barely reaching 50 liters per square meter per year.
56.7 degrees were reached in 1913
Just 10 kilometers away from Death Valley is the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, where on 10 July 1913 the mercury reached 134.1 fahrenheit (56.7 degrees). However, like the Tunisian temperature mentioned above, the figure is contested and was not recorded at a constant state.
For those interested in experiencing Death Valley’s extreme weather up close, hotels and restaurants are available in the area to cater to dare devil tourists. There is even a swimming pool to help travellers deal with the suffocating heat of the hottest place on the planet.