Death Valley records its hottest month ever in July

A sign warns visitors of extreme heat in Death Valley, California. Photograph: Reuters

Death Valley, the hottest place on Earth, recorded its hottest month ever on record in July, the National Park Service (NPS) announced.

In a statement released on Friday, the NPS revealed that the park had an average 24-hour temperature of 108.5F (42.5C), in turn beating out its previous record of 108.1F (42.3C) set in 2018.

In July, the average high temperature in Death Valley was 121.9F (49.9C). According to the NPS, the park experienced nine days of temperatures at 125F (51.7C) or greater and only seven days that did not reach at least 120F (48.8C). The highest temperature last month was on 7 July, when the weather station at Furnace Creek recorded 129.2F (54C).

“We just experienced the hottest month in history in the hottest place on Earth! Six of the 10 hottest summers have come in the past 10 years, which should serve as a wake-up call,” park superintendent Mike Reynolds said in a statement.

“Record-breaking months like this one could become the norm as we continue to see global temperatures rise. Visitors to the park should plan ahead and come prepared to face extreme temperatures during the summer months,” Reynolds added.

The intense heat has resulted in multiple life-threatening heat-related incidents. On 7 July, a motorcyclist visiting the park died from heat exposure while another person was hospitalized for “severe heat illness” as temperatures reached 128F (53.3C). The visitors were part of a six-person motorcyclist group traveling through the park’s Badwater Basin area amid scorching weather, the park said at the time.

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.

“Due to communication challenges, park rangers were not able to determine if his flip-flops broke or were lost in sand. The ground temperature would have been much hotter than air temperature, which was around 123F (50.5C),” the park said in a statement.

Park officials are urging 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 advice comes just days after provisional data by the Copernicus Climate Change Service revealed that 22 July was the hottest recorded day on Earth, with the global surface air temperature reaching 62.87F (17.15C).