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Podcasts Take Two
Doubts cloud Death Valley’s 100-year heat record
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Jul 17, 2013
Listen • 4:11
Doubts cloud Death Valley’s 100-year heat record
One hundred years ago this month, Death Valley was the hottest place on Earth, 134 degrees. The temperature has never been topped but some climate experts doubt it was actually reached.
Heat waves rise near a heat danger warning sign on the eve of the AdventurCORPS Badwater 135 ultra-marathon race on July 14, 2013 in Death Valley National Park, California. Billed as the toughest footrace in the world, the 36th annual Badwater 135 starts at Badwater Basin in Death Valley, 280 feet below sea level, where athletes begin a 135-mile non-stop run over three mountain ranges in extreme mid-summer desert heat to finish at 8,350-foot near Mount Whitney for a total cumulative vertical ascent of 13,000 feet. July 10 marked the 100-year anniversary of the all-time hottest world record temperature of 134 degrees, set in Death Valley where the average high in July is 116.
Heat waves rise near a heat danger warning sign on the eve of the AdventurCORPS Badwater 135 ultra-marathon race on July 14, 2013 in Death Valley National Park, California.
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David McNew/Getty Images
)

One hundred years ago this month, Death Valley was the hottest place on Earth, 134 degrees. The temperature has never been topped but some climate experts doubt it was actually reached.

One hundred years ago this month, Death Valley was the hottest place on Earth, 134 degrees. The temperature has never been topped but some climate experts doubt it was actually reached. 

For the Fronteras Desk, KPBS science and technology reporter David Wagner has the story.