Death Valley could hit 130 degrees, break world heat record

Temperature in Death Valley may reach above 130 degrees by the weekend
All-time high in Death Valley is 134 degrees; it was set over 100 years ago
Forecaster: 20% chance the park will hit 130 degrees Monday and Tuesday

Updated: Jul 5, 2024 / 12:40 PM CDT

DEATH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 7: A man drinks water on a hot day at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley as extreme heat wave warming issued in California, United States on June 7, 2024. Death Valley, California, widely known as one of the hottest spots on the planet. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

(NewsNation) — Forecasters predict California’s Death Valley National Park might soon break its record for hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth.

Despite summer being two weeks away, temperatures soared past 110 degrees from southeast California to Arizona on Thursday amid the region’s first heat wave of the year.

On Wednesday, the National Weather Service’s Las Vegas Office reported that Death Valley’s temperature was expected to reach 122 degrees.

Chris Outler, a forecaster for the Las Vegas office, told USA Today there’s a 20% chance the park could hit 130 degrees Monday and Tuesday.

The all-time high in Death Valley, and the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth, was 134 degrees on July 10, 1913. The currently highest reliably measured temperature is 130 degrees, recorded in Death Valley in August 2020 and July 2021, according to Scientific American.