Jabar Ekspres – The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) revealed that the highest temperature record could be broken due to the heat wave that hit the southern US, the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East and some countries in Asia.
The WMO said some countries could break their own national high temperature records.
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Hot weather is expected to intensify mid-week in a number of Mediterranean regions, including Greece and Turkey.
“If there are new extreme temperature reports during a heatwave, we will immediately issue a preliminary assessment and then evaluate in detail as part of our careful verification process,” said Randall Cerveny, WMO extreme weather and climate observer.
“Climate change and rising temperatures have triggered a surge in reports of extreme weather and climate records, especially heat,” Cerveny said.
“We have to make sure these records are verified in the interest of science and accuracy.”
According to the WMO Extreme Weather and Temperature Archive, the hottest temperature ever recorded occurred on July 10, 1913 at Furnace Creek, Death Valley, California, at 56.7 Celsius.
The WMO is currently validating temperature measurements of 54.4 Celsius taken in Death Valley, California on August 16, 2020 and July 9, 2021.
If confirmed, this would be the hottest temperature on Earth since 1931 and the third hottest temperature ever recorded.
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“Both sensors in Death Valley in 2020 and 2021 had to be dismantled and sent to an independent testing calibration laboratory. One of the tests has already been completed, and we are waiting for the second,” Cerveny said.
For the European region, the hottest temperature record is held by Sicily, which reached 48.8 Celsius, on August 11, 2021. According to the WMO, there is a possibility of this record being broken in the next few days.
