For exactly 90 years, it was thought El Azizia, Libya, had recorded the world’s hottest temperature, a blistering 136 degrees on Sept. 13, 1922. Not so. A team of atmospheric scientists has concluded the reading is bogus after a comprehensive review
This means Death Valley (Greenland Ranch, Calif.), which saw the mercury soar to a scorching 134 degrees on July 10, 1913, now holds the distinction of having achieved the Earth’s hottest temperature.
“It is a figure that has been for meteorologists as Mt. Everest is for geographers,” wrote Christopher Burt, Weather Underground weather historian.
Thirteen scientists from 9 countries conducted a review of the Libyan record and uncovered 5 problems with the temperature measurement:
•use of antiquated instrumentation
a likely inexperienced observer
an observation site that was not representative of the desert surroundings
poor matching of the temperature to nearby locations
poor matching to temperatures recorded in that location after the record was established
“When we compared observations to surrounding areas and to other measurements made before and after the 1922 reading, they simply didn’t match up,” said Arizona State University meteorologist Randy Cerveny, who led the study on behalf of the World Meteorological Organization.
The 13 scientists began the investigation around the start of the revolution in Libya in 2010. It was forced into hiatus when the Libyan official involved, Khalid El Fadli, disappeared. He resurfaced eight months later and work resumed.
“Khalid El Fadli did this at great risk to himself,” Cerveny said. “He was an official of the previous regime, so when the revolution began to turn, his safety was a key concern.”
The driving force behind the investigation was Weather Underground’s Christopher Burt, who long suspected the Libyan record was questionable.
Burt initially contacted El Fadli in 2010 to discuss the record. After El Fadli collegially shared data and information consistent with his suspicions (El Fadli was skeptical of the record himself), Burt reached out to Cerveny who created the committee to evaluate the record.
Online: bit.ly/PfWD28
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