The official hottest place in the world just got hotter, in terms of monthly averages at least.
Death Valley National Park in California registered its hottest month on record this July (2024), with an average 24-hour temperature of 108.5°F (42.5°C). That beats the park’s previous record of 108.1°F (42.3°C) which was set in 2018.
Death Valley rangers were called out to multiple life-threatening heat-related incidents over the course of the month, including a motorcyclist who died of heat exposure and a man who was taken to hospital with burns to his feet after walking on dunes with no shoes on.
The average highest temperature each day in July hit a scorching 121.9°F (49.9°C). On nine days during the month the park hit maximum temperatures in excess of 125°F (51.7°C). There were only seven days in July when the mercury didn’t hit 120°F (48.9°C).
When it comes to high temperatures, though, there was one way in which July 2024 in Death Valley wasn’t a record breaker. The highest temperature of the month came on July 7 when the weather station at Furnace Creek recorded 129.2°F (54°C). That doesn’t quite top the highest temperature ever officially recorded in Death Valley – and indeed anywhere on Earth – which remains the 134F (56.7C) heat reached in July 1913 at Furnace Creek. So, y’know, there’s something for climate change deniers to cling to…
Temperatures at or above 130F (54.4C) have only been recorded on Earth a handful of times since, mostly in Death Valley.
July 2024 also saw the hottest day ever recorded on Earth, which was Monday, July 22, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) data. The global average temperature was recorded at exactly 62.87°F (17.15°C). The previous record for the highest global average temperature was July 6, 2023, at 62.71°F (17.06°C).
“We just experienced the hottest month in history in the hottest place on Earth,” said Superintendent Mike Reynolds in a statement. “Six of the 10 hottest summers have come in the past 10 years, which should serve as a wake up call. Record-breaking months like this one could become the norm as we continue to see global temperatures rise. Visitors to the park should plan ahead and come prepared to face extreme temperatures during the summer months.”
Anyone wanting to visit Death Valley should make sure they understand excessive heat warnings.
Personally we’d just advise not going to Death Valley in July. But if you feel you must, rangers urge visitors to stay within a 10-minute walk of an air-conditioned vehicle, drink plenty of water, eat salty snacks and wear a hat and sunscreen. Oh, and shoes.
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