World Meteorological Organization

References

U.S. Environmental Science Services Administration, 1967: Temperature Extremes, National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (US); Court, 1949: How hot is Death Valley?, Geographical Review, 39, pp. 214-220, Fantoli, 1954: I valori medi della temperatura in Libia, Bulletin of the Italian Geographical Society (Italian), Series 8. Vol 7, pp. 59-71, Fantoli, 1958: La piu alta temperatura del mondo [the highest temperature in the world], Revue of Aeronautical Meteorology (Italian), 18, pp. 53-63, Krause and Flood, 1997: Weather and Climate Extremes, US Army Corps of Engineers Topographic Engineering Centerpp. 89, Lamb, 1958: The occurrence of very high surface temperatures, Meteorological Magazine, 87, pp. 39-43, Seamon and Bartlett, 1956: Climatological extremes, Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin, 43, pp. 6-8; Foreign Branch, 1968: Worldwide extremes of temperature, precipitation and pressure recorded by continental ara, U.S Dept. of Commerce; Environmental Sciences Services Administration pp. 4;

Discussion

An Italian weather station measured a temperature of 136.4°F (58°C) in al' Aziziyah (Azizia) Libya (about 25 miles south of Tripoli). Although this record has gained general acceptance as the world's highest temperature recorded under standard conditions, the validity of the extreme has been questioned. Fántoli (1954,1958) examined the record and researched the exposure, the instrument shelter, and the instruments themselves. A discussion in English of Fántoli's 1954 work appears in Gentilli, 1955. Fántoli generally concluded that the probable extreme maximum should have been only 132.8°F (56°C).Lamb (1958) noted that the extreme occurred following two days of hot, southerly winds and that latent heat may have been added to the air mass due to rain south of location.