Death Valley National Park in California could have seen the highest temperature ever recorded, according to a report by the BBC.
The recordings were made at Furnace Creek in Death Valley; they are being verified by the US National Weather Service.
Before this, the highest reliably-recorded temperature was also registered in Death Valley itself at 129.2 degrees Fahrenheit (54 degrees Celsius) in 2013.
Another reading of 134 degrees Fahrenheit, or 56.6 degrees Celsius is claimed to have been recorded at the same location, a century ago. However, these claims are widely disputed between experts.
Weather historian Christopher Burt’s analysis from 2016 shows that other temperatures recorded at the same time in the area do not align with these claims.
According to Burt, the claim of Tunisia recording 131 degrees Fahrenheit, or 55 degrees Celsius in 1931, when it was a French colony, cannot be regarded as credible either.