The hottest month in its history is recorded by the famous “Death Valley” so called because a group of people who went to California in the winter of 1849 and 1850 feared that the place was so inhospitable to humanity who would die there.
The driest place in North America and the second driest in the entire planet, after the Atacama Desert in Chile, recorded in July. the hottest month on record as announced by the National Park Service (NPS).
The NPS announced that the park had an average 24-hour temperature of 42.5°C, surpassing the previous record of 42.3°C set in 2018.
The weather station at Furnace Creek recorded 54°C
In July, the average high temperature in “Death Valley” was 49.9 °C. According to the NPS, in the park, for nine days the highest temperatures reached 51.7 °C. The highest temperature last month was July 7, when the weather station at Furnace Creek recorded 54°C.
“We experienced the hottest month on record, in the hottest part of the Earth! Six of the ten hottest summers have come in the last 10 years, which should be a wake-up call,” said park superintendent Mike Reynolds.
“Record-breaking months like this could become the norm as we continue to see global temperatures rise. Park visitors should plan ahead and come prepared for extreme temperatures during the summer months,” Reynolds added.
56.6 degrees Celsius in July 1913
The intense heat caused multiple heat-related life-threatening incidents. On July 7, a motorcyclist visiting the park died of heat exposure, while another person was hospitalized when temperatures reached 53.3 °C. The visitors were part of a six-person motorcycling group traveling through the Badwater Basin area of the park amid scorching temperatures.
A few weeks later, a Belgian tourist suffered third-degree burns on his feet and was hospitalized in Las Vegas after losing his flip-flops in the park.
Temperatures in “Death Valley” can reach incredibly unhealthy levels for any person in the area, such as in July 1913 when it was recorded at 56.6 degrees Celsius.
Park officials urge travelers to “Death Valley” to stay within a 10-minute walk of an air-conditioned vehicle, drink plenty of water, eat salty snacks and wear a hat and sunscreen.
The park’s advisory comes days after provisional data from the Copernicus Climate Change Agency revealed that July 22 was the hottest day on record on Earth, with surface air temperatures reaching 17.15C.