Unsubstantiated reports that Kuwait registered the highest temperature in the world on Saturday – 52.2 degrees Celsius in the shade – in Mitribah in north of the country, was being circulated on social media sites, accompanied by a claim that a member of the Arab Union of Space and Astronomy Dr. Khalid Al-Zaaq of Saudi Arabia made the statement. Kuwait Metrological Office, which monitors Kuwait’s temperature, published that Kuwait reached a high of only 49 degrees centigrade.
Last week also unofficial news reported in print and online media of scorching temperatures close to 70 degrees celsius which was also false daily temperatures quoted by meteorological stations based on standard measuring conditions for air temperature at a height of 1.5 meters above the ground, and shielded from direct sunlight.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the highest air temperature recorded on Earth was 56.7 °C (134.1 °F) on 10 July, 1913 in the United States at the Death Valley desert in California.
If the 1913 record is also found inaccurate, then the next highest recorded temperature is 54.0°C measured, both in Death Valley desert on 20 June, 2013, and at the weather station in Mitribah, northwest Kuwait, on 21 July 2016.
For years, Kuwait’s climate has been steadily heating up. In the summer months, temperature frequently touches 50 °C, so while Kuwait is among the hottest place on Earth, at least with regards to temperature, it still had a long way to go as summer has not reached its peak this year.
