Death Valley Reaches an Insanely Hot 130 degrees

This past Sunday, the temperature gauge at Furnace Creek in Death Valley hit an astronomical 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 degrees Celsius). While it still needs to be verified, the temperature is likely to be the hottest (verified) temperature on record and the hottest August temperature in Death Valley (by 3 degrees F).

There are two temperature readings that surpass 130 degrees, but experts have doubts about their accuracy. The first is a 134 degree Fahrenheit also from Death Valley in 1913, and the other is a 131 degrees in Tunisia in 1931. While these are both higher, most meteorological experts have significant doubts.

The temperature comes in the midst of a heat wave that is sweeping the entire western United States. The blistering heat has prompted rolling blackouts to conserve electricity across California. More than 30 wildfires are burning in California, plus more in the Southwest and in Utah and Colorado.

As if that wasn't enough, the Arctic is ablaze for the second season in a row. Many climate scientists were hoping that the 2019 fire season was an outlier, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The greatest concern is a "fire regime", when extreme fire seasons become the norm (7 out of 10 years).

But hey, our president is still ranting about windmills, so I'm sure we're in good hands.