When the summer monthsbeardownand the sun seems impossibly hot, peakingtemperatures can feel oppressive, whether humid or dry, and prompt the question, "has it ever been hotter than this?!"
Much of the time the answer to that question will be yes. Despite the planet’s consistent warming due to climate change, and the steady increase in the year’s highest temperatures, Earth has been this hot before.
Here’s a guide to the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth, which country it’s in, and at what point heat becomes unlivable for humans.
What is the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth?
The highest temperature on record belongs to California’s Death Valley which, in 1913, reached a temperature of 134 degrees Fahrenheit, or 56.7 degrees Celsius, Al Jazeera reports.
By region, the hottest temperatures ever recorded are:
- Africa: 131 F (Tunisia, 1931)
- Asia: 129 F (Iran 2017)
- Europe: 119.8 F (Italy 2021)
- Antarctica 69.3 F (Seymour Island 2020)
What is a heat wave?:How it affects your body and how to stay safe
Do humans live in Death Valley?
Yes, people live inDeath Valley. According to the 2020 Census, thatpopulation number is around 856.
What is the hottest temperature a human can survive?
It really depends on the conditions. It is easier for humans to survive dry heat than extreme humidity, as excessive moisture in the air slows the natural cooling process of the body by slowing the evaporation process of sweat.
UCLA climate researcher Chad Thackeray told USA Today in an email thatit isgenerally thought that exposure to wet bulb temperatures of 95F or greater for at least 6 hours is the threshold for human survival. Wet bulb temperature refers to the metric used to express the combined impacts of extreme temperature and humidity.
What is the coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth?
The coldest temperature ever recorded is -128.6°F, in Vostok Station, Antarctica in 1983.
One colder temperature exists, however. In 2010 a temperature of -135.8F was recorded in East Antarctica via NASA satellite. This recording does not get to wear the "coldest ever"crown though, as it was not measured with a thermometer.
Has the Earth ever been hotter than it is now?
Yes, technically. Our planet is many billions of years old, and during its earliest days Earth was molten, meaning its surface temperatures could have exceeded 3,600° F.
In the period since humans have inhabited the planet and begun recording temperatures,recent years are certainly proving to be hotter, scientists believe from the warming of our climate due to greenhouse gas emissions.
In fact, in 2021,a report released by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change reported that the planet’s global surface temperature has increased by approximately 1.9F compared to the average from 1850 –1900. This phenomenon has not been seen since prior to the last ice age, 125,000 years ago.
What are the top 5 hottest years on record?
Given the climate’s unequivocal warming trend, the top five hottest years on record have all occurred since 2015. As it stands the hottest years, according to NASA have been:
It is important to note that there are some disagreements on the order of the list. "There are slight methodological differences between global temperature datasets from various agencies," Thackeray reports.
A"La Nina" pattern — uncharacteristically cool sea surface temperatures in the Tropical Pacificis the principal reason why 2021 falls just outside the top 5 hottest years, Thackeray explains.
What is the hottest place in the USA?
According to AccuWeather, the ten hottest cities in the U.S. are:
- Phoenix, AZ
- Las Vegas, NV
- Tucson, AZ
- Riverside, CA
- San Antonio, TX
- Miami, FL
- Houston, TX
- Fresno, CA
- Dallas, TX
- Orlando, FL
Polar opposites:Here's the coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth
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FAQs
The hottest temperature ever recorded was 134 degrees (56.67 degrees Celsius) in July 1913 at Furnace Creek, said Randy Ceverny of the World Meteorological Organization, the body recognized as keeper of world records.
What is the hottest recorded temperature on Earth? ›
The current official highest registered air temperature on Earth is 56.7 °C (134.1 °F), recorded on 10 July 1913 at Furnace Creek Ranch, in Death Valley in the United States.
What was the hottest Earth ever got? ›
Because no rocks on Earth have survived from so long ago, scientists have estimated early Earth conditions based on observations of the Moon and on astronomical models. Following the collision that spawned the Moon, the planet was estimated to have been around 2,300 Kelvin (3,680°F).
What's the hottest temperature ever recorded in the universe? ›
The hottest temperature ever recorded was at CERN's Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2012, scientists managed to produce a temperature of nearly 10-trillion degrees Fahrenheit, which is many magnitudes larger than even the hottest supernova.
What burns at the hottest temperature? ›
Highest temperature
Dicyanoacetylene, a compound of carbon and nitrogen with chemical formula C4N2 burns in oxygen with a bright blue-white flame at a temperature of 5,260 K (4,990 °C; 9,010 °F), and at up to 6,000 K (5,730 °C; 10,340 °F) in ozone.
Does anyone live in Death Valley? ›
Death Valley is home to the Timbisha tribe of Native Americans, formerly known as the Panamint Shoshone, who have inhabited the valley for at least the past millennium. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of lowest elevation in North America, at 282 feet (86 m) below sea level.
Can humans survive 130 degrees? ›
Heat Index: 130+ degrees F Health Effect: Heatstroke/sunstroke is highly likely with continued exposure Recommendations: Avoid strenuous outdoor activity. Stay indoors in an air conditioned facility. Stay well-hydrated. Drink 10 gulps every 20 minutes.
How hot will the Earth be in 2050? ›
Since 1880, average global temperatures have increased by about 1 degrees Celsius (1.7° degrees Fahrenheit). Global temperature is projected to warm by about 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7° degrees Fahrenheit) by 2050 and 2-4 degrees Celsius (3.6-7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100.
Was July the hottest month in 120000 years? ›
On Tuesday, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) confirmed July as the hottest month on record by a significant margin.
Is the Earth getting hotter? ›
According to NOAA's 2023 Annual Climate Report the combined land and ocean temperature has increased at an average rate of 0.11° Fahrenheit (0.06° Celsius) per decade since 1850, or about 2° F in total. The rate of warming since 1982 is more than three times as fast: 0.36° F (0.20° C) per decade.
Black holes are freezing cold on the inside, but incredibly hot just outside. The internal temperature of a black hole with the mass of our Sun is around one-millionth of a degree above absolute zero.
How hot is lightning? ›
In fact, lightning can heat the air it passes through to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5 times hotter than the surface of the sun). When lightning strikes a tree, the heat vaporizes any water in its path possibly causing the tree to explode or a strip of bark to be blown off.
Is lava hotter than the sun? ›
While lava is intensely hot, it is not hotter than the sun. On average, lava can range between 1,300 to 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on its location, according to Wonderopolis, a website run by the National Center for Families Learning. It's safe to say the sun at all parts is much hotter than lava.
How hot is Purple fire? ›
Violet fires can burn upwards of 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,650 degrees Celsius). This intense heat is most notably observed in the hottest part of the flame, where the blue color is most vibrant and pure, indicating a complete combustion process.
What's hotter than fire? ›
Exceeding fire, which humans can easily get to reach over 3,400ºC, is no problem for nature. Lightning on Earth creates a white hot explosion of plasma that reaches 27,000ºC. That's almost five times hotter than the surface of the sun.
Why is Death Valley so hot? ›
Much of the reason for this is that Death Valley is a long, narrow basin that sinks 282 feet below sea level. The sun-bleached moonscape near the border of Nevada is hemmed in by jagged, rust-colored mountains, which trap hot air and circulate it like a convection oven.
Has Hawaii ever had a 100 degree day? ›
The highest temperature ever recorded in Hawaii was 100 at Pahala (elevation 870 feet) on the Big Island of Hawaii on April 27, 1931.
How hot has it been in Death Valley? ›
The hottest air temperature ever recorded in Death Valley (Furnace Creek) was 134°F (57°C) on July 10, 1913.
