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Temperatures simulated by the GFS model in the Middle East on Friday reached 129 degrees (54 Celsius).
The temperature in Mitribah, Kuwait, surged Thursday to
a blistering 129.2 degrees (54 Celsius). And on Friday in Basra, Iraq, the mercury
soared to 129.0 degrees (53.9 Celsius). If confirmed, these incredible measurements would represent the two hottest temperatures ever recorded in the Eastern Hemisphere, according to Weather Underground meteorologist Jeff Masters and weather historian Christopher Burt,
who broke the news.
It's also possible that Mitribah's 129.2-degree reading matches the hottest ever reliably measured anywhere in the world. Both Mitribah and Basra's readings are likely the highest ever recorded outside of Death Valley, Calif.
Death Valley currently holds the record for the world's hottest temperature of 134.1 degrees (56.7 Celsius), set July 10, 1913. But Weather Underground's Burt does not believe it is a credible measurement: "[T]he record has been scrutinized perhaps more than any other in the United States," Burt wrote. "I don't have much more to add to the debate aside from my belief it is most likely not a valid reading when one looks at all the evidence."
If you discard the Death Valley record from 1913, the pair of 129.2-degree readings from Mitribah and Basra over the past two days would tie the world's highest known temperature,
also observed in Death Valley on June 30, 2013, and in Tirat Tsvi, Israel, on June 22, 1942. But
Masters says the Israeli measurement is controversial.
Basra, the city of 1.5 million about 75 miles northwest of the Persian Gulf, has registered historic heat on two straight days. On Thursday,
it hit 128 degrees (53.6 Celsius), the highest temperature ever recorded in Iraq, which it then surpassed on Friday, rising to 129.
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