Highest temperature recorded on Earth

The standard measuring conditions for temperature are in the air, above the ground, and shielded from direct sunlight. Global surface temperatures as a whole have been monitored since the 1880s when record keeping began. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the highest registered air temperature on Earth was in Furnace Creek Ranch, California, located in Death Valley in the United States, on 10 July 1913. This record was surpassed by a reading of , registered on 13 September 1922, in ʽAziziya, Libya. Ninety years later, this record was decertified, making the former reading in Death Valley the world's highest official temperature again. The decertification of the former record in Libya has since cast doubt on the validity of the 1913 recording. If the 1913 record were to be decertified, the highest established recorded air temperature on Earth would be , also recorded in Death Valley on 20 June 2013, in Mitribah, Kuwait on 21 July 2016 and in Tirat Zvi, Israel on 21 July 1942. There have since been higher readings of in August 2020 and July 2021, both at Furnace Creek, that are pending validation. Measurements have also been taken in two other ways via ground and satellite readings. Temperatures measured directly on the ground may exceed air temperatures by . The theoretical maximum possible ground surface temperature has been estimated to be between for dry, darkish soils of low thermal conductivity. While there is no highest confirmed ground temperature, a reading of – the highest ever among unverified claims – was allegedly recorded in Furnace Creek Ranch on 15 July 1972. Temperature measurements via satellite also tend to capture the occurrence of higher records but, due to complications involving the satellite's altitude loss (a side effect of atmospheric friction), these measurements are often considered less reliable than ground-positioned thermometers. Satellite measurements of ground temperature taken between 2003 and 2009, taken with the MODIS infrared spectroradiometer on the Aqua satellite, found a maximum temperature of , which was recorded in 2005 in the Lut Desert, Iran. The Lut Desert was also found to have the highest maximum temperature in 5 of the 7 years measured (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009). These measurements reflect averages over a large region and so are lower than the maximum point surface temperature. ==Issues==

In the early 21st century, prior recordings for the highest temperature on Earth were investigated as probable misreadings. From 1922 until 2012, the WMO record for the highest official temperature on Earth was , registered on 13 September 1922, in ʽAziziya, Libya. This record was decertified by the WMO in January 2012 after investigation concluded that an inexperienced observer probably misread a new instrument that they had not been trained to interpret. Modern weather historians such as Christopher C. Burt and William Taylor Reid have also claimed that the 1913 Death Valley reading is "a myth", and is at least too high. The WMO has come out in support of the current record stating that "We accept that Death Valley temperature extreme record. If any new materials on it surface, we will be prepared to open an investigation, but at this time all available evidence points to its legitimacy." ==Unverified claims==

The following are unverified claims of extreme heat over the current world record of . These include historical claims that were never authenticated due to the equipment available at the time and unverified scientific claims. Amateur readings have also been done through social media that claimed occurrences of extreme temperatures which were later discredited. Videos were posted in one instance that allegedly showed street lights melting or trees bursting into flames. These were later disproven by meteorologists who tied the "evidence" to other unrelated prior events that had taken place. All of the recordings listed before 1972 were allegedly caused by a sudden localized increase in air temperature near the surface, known as a heat burst. ==See also==