LOS ANGELES: The temperature in Death Valley, located between the US states of California and Nevada, reached 54.4 degrees Celsius (130 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday afternoon, the highest temperature recorded in the country since 1913, according to the National Weather Service.
"Death Valley, California recorded a high temperature of 130 degrees Fahrenheit at 3:41 pm PDT (22:41 GMT) on Sunday, August 16. This temperature was measured at Furnace Creek near the visitors' center using a National Weather Service-owned automated observation system. This observed high temperature is considered preliminary and not yet official," the National Weather Service said in a statement.
"If verified, this will be the hottest temperature officially verified since July of 1913, also at Death Valley. As this is an extreme temperature event, the recorded temperature will need to undergo a formal review," added the agency, noting that a committee will be formed to verify the validity of the reading.
Death Valley is the lowest and driest place in the US and one of the hottest locations in the world at the height of summer.
It clocked the highest temperature ever recorded at 56.7 degrees Celsius (134 degrees Fahrenheit) on July 10, 1913.