The long-standing claim that the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 56.7°C (134°F) at Greenland Ranch in Death Valley, California, on July 10, 1913, is likely false. A 2026 study found that the reading is physically implausible and was probably 12–16°F too high. Using lapse rates derived from surrounding higher-elevation weather stations, the researchers estimated that the actual maximum temperature that day was likely around 120°F. The study also found evidence of other questionable temperature reports in the early years at the station, including signs that the observer may have been estimating or substituting higher values. The highest reliably recorded temperature on Earth accepted by climatologists and weather historians is 130.0 °F (54.4°C) on July 9, 2021 at Death Valley National Park’s Furnace Creek Visitor Center. However, the World Meteorological Organization still lists the 1913 value as the official world record. Study: