At the Furnace Creek weather station in Death Valley, California (USA), a temperature of 54.4°C (130.9°F) was recently recorded. If confirmed, this would represent the highest temperature in more than a century.
The Death Valley in southeastern California is the lowest point in the North American continent, and is a National Park. It is also the hottest and driest part of the continent.
The temperature has been termed as preliminary and not final as it awaits verification.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Death Valley’s all-time record high is 56.7°C taken on 10th July 1913 at Greenland Ranch.
A ‘heat dome’ is a weather pattern that can trap warm air over a large area of land, leading to an exceptional July heatwave in California.
This pattern has been observed before and is often linked to climate change. This trend looks set to continue with increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
The high temperature is a result of a ‘heat dome’ that is smothering the west coast of the USA. As this pattern persists, temperatures are likely to rise further over the coming decades.
Extremes in temperature pose a significant health threat. Death Valley, with temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 130°F, is one of the hottest places on Earth.
The following information is based on a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international health organizations. When extreme heat occurs, it should be anticipated that the following may occur exacerbation of existing health conditions including respiratory diseases such as asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis; heart conditions such as heart failure or irregular heartbeat; kidney disorders such as dehydration leading to kidney failure.
Hot summer temperatures can have a severe impact on agriculture and forests. They either cause vegetables to wilt and die or encourage the spread of plant diseases. Sugarcane puts out long tendrils that can get caught in between rotating parts of combine harvesters, leading to serious injury or death.
It affects infrastructure too by straining power grids and causing blackouts. It can ground planes, melt roads and cause the inside of vehicles to overheat to dangerous levels. Extreme heat can lead to complications and deaths. Heat exhaustion is a common problem on hot days, but excessive heatstroke can occur when the body cannot control its temperature as efficiently as it normally could.