Death Valley National Park set another record in July.
The average July temperature in this region, known as the hottest place on Earth, is 108.5 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. This beat the previous record of 108.1 degrees set in July 2018.
Death Valley’s average high temperature last month was 121.9 degrees, tying the previous record set in July 1917.
The National Weather Service has temperature sensors at Furnace Creek in Death Valley.
“It’s very hot,” said Morgan Stesman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Las Vegas office.
Further south, a small California town near the Arizona border also set a new record for the hottest monthly average temperature in the country.
Needles’ average July temperature of 103.2 degrees surpassed Phoenix’s 2023 July average high temperature of 102.7 degrees, according to the Arizona Climate Office.
Harsher temperatures may be coming. Meteorologist Stesman said there is a 50 to 60 percent chance that August temperatures in Death Valley will be above normal.
Death Valley is a long, narrow basin near the Nevada border that is 282 feet below sea level. Mountains trap hot air, causing the heat to circulate like a convection oven.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Death Valley was 134 degrees on July 10, 1913.
In July, a European tourist lost his flip-flops in the sand dunes of Death Valley, causing the skin on his feet to melt, park officials said. Also in July, a cyclist died in Death Valley.
High temperatures hampered rescue efforts. Medical helicopters cannot enter the park when temperatures exceed 120 degrees. When air heats up, it expands and becomes thinner than cold air, and helicopters can’t get the lift they need to fly.
Trees and wildlife are suffering too. one Study in 2022 Research has found that thousands of trees have died since 2013 on Telescope Peak, the highest point in Death Valley.
Another 2019 study found that about one-third of Death Valley’s bird species have declined over the past 100 years due to heat stress from climate change.
