World Records
The Hottest and Coldest Places on Earth: Records, Science, and Survival
On July 10, 1913, a thermometer at Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley recorded 56.7°C (134°F) — the highest air temperature ever officially accepted by the World Meteorological Organization. On July 21, 1983, a weather station at Vostok in Antarctica measured -89.2°C (-128.6°F), the lowest surface air temperature in recorded history. Between these two extremes, Earth's surface spans 145.9 degrees Celsius. That range is not just geography: it reflects the physics of atmosphere, solar geometry, topography, and the remarkably thin thermal envelope that makes the planet habitable at all.