Thermometer in Death Valley, California Shows Highest Global Temperature in over 100 Years

Sara Calcinaro (L) and Marco Rizzelli of Italy walk in the Mesquite Dunes as high temperatures approach record levels in Death Valley National Park, California June 29, 2013. (Reuters)
Sara Calcinaro (L) and Marco Rizzelli of Italy walk in the Mesquite Dunes as high temperatures approach record levels in Death Valley National Park, California June 29, 2013. (Reuters)
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Thermometer in Death Valley, California Shows Highest Global Temperature in over 100 Years

Sara Calcinaro (L) and Marco Rizzelli of Italy walk in the Mesquite Dunes as high temperatures approach record levels in Death Valley National Park, California June 29, 2013. (Reuters)
Sara Calcinaro (L) and Marco Rizzelli of Italy walk in the Mesquite Dunes as high temperatures approach record levels in Death Valley National Park, California June 29, 2013. (Reuters)

A thermometer at Death Valley’s Furnace Creek in the Southern California desert has soared to 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 Celsius), the highest global temperature in more than a century, the US National Weather Service said.

“If verified, this will be the hottest temperature officially verified since July of 1913,” NWS Las Vegas, which owns the automated observation system, said of the reading on Sunday afternoon, emphasizing that it was preliminary.

It will need to undergo a formal review before the record is confirmed because of its significance, it said on its Twitter feed, linking to an NWS statement.

The National Weather Service’s automated weather station close to the Furnace Creek visitors’ center near the border with Nevada hit the extreme high at 3:41 pm local time.

Death Valley’s all-time record high, according to the World Meteorological Organization, is 134°F (56.7°C) taken on July 10, 1913 at Greenland Ranch. That reading still stands as the hottest ever recorded on the planet’s surface, according to the WMO.



Severe Storms in New York City Area Kill Two in New Jersey Floods

 A woman walks along the Hudson River, with the Jersey City skyline in the background, in New York City, US, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
A woman walks along the Hudson River, with the Jersey City skyline in the background, in New York City, US, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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Severe Storms in New York City Area Kill Two in New Jersey Floods

 A woman walks along the Hudson River, with the Jersey City skyline in the background, in New York City, US, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
A woman walks along the Hudson River, with the Jersey City skyline in the background, in New York City, US, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Two people were killed in New Jersey during flash flooding as severe storms lashed the New York City area on Monday night into Tuesday, submerging cars and flooding subway stations.

The intense rainfall caused widespread travel disruption across the region's airports, highways and railways.

More than 2 inches (5 cm) of rain were recorded in a single hour in Manhattan's Central Park, the second most for a 60-minute period in history, according to Mayor Eric Adams.

Videos showed flooding in several subway stations on Monday evening, including a geyser of water spewing into a station on Manhattan's West Side.

Officials said the subway system was simply overwhelmed by the amount of rainfall in such a short amount of time. The antiquated sewer system can handle around 1.75 inches (4.44 cm) of rainfall per hour, Rohit Aggarwala, the city's environmental protection commissioner, told reporters on Tuesday, compared with a rate of more than 4 inches an hour at the storm's peak.

"I probably don't recall seeing that level of rain before," Adams said.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency and said two people died in Plainfield when their vehicle was swept away by floodwaters.

The victims were found in a submerged car, Murphy told reporters.

Murphy said that some places got 6 inches (15.25 cm) of rain in less than 2.5 hours and that it appeared some locations experienced flooding for the first time. The governor blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.

"That's the new reality," he said.

In Westchester County, north of the city, authorities conducted multiple water rescues as cars were submerged and highways shut down due to flooding. In nearby Rockland County, the suburb of Nanuet recorded more than 5 inches (12.7 cm) of rain, according to the National Weather Service.