In recent decades, new high temperature records have substantially outpaced new low temperature records on a growing portion of Earth's surface. Comparison shows seasonal variability for record increases.
The list of weather records includes the most extreme occurrences of weather phenomena for various categories. Many weather records are measured under specific conditions—such as surface temperature and wind speed—to keep consistency among measurements around the Earth. Each of these records is understood to be the record value officially observed, as these records may have been exceeded before modern weather instrumentation was invented, or in remote areas without an official weather station. This list does not include remotely sensed observations such as satellite measurements, since those values are not considered official records.
Temperature
Increasingly, record temperatures have been warm record temperatures.
2024 saw the highest global average surface temperature in recorded history.
Measuring conditions
The standard measuring conditions for temperature are in the air, 1.25 metres (4.1ft) to 2.00 metres (6.6ft) above the ground, and shielded from direct sunlight intensity (hence the term x degrees "in the shade"). The following lists include all officially confirmed claims measured by those methods.
Temperatures measured directly on the ground may exceed air temperatures by 30 to 50°C (54 to 90°F). The highest natural ground surface temperature ever recorded may have been an alleged reading of 93.9°C (201.0°F) at Furnace Creek, California, United States, on 15July 1972. In 2011, a ground temperature of 84°C (183.2°F) was recorded in Port Sudan, Sudan. The theoretical maximum possible ground surface temperature has been estimated to be between 90 and 100°C (194 and 212°F) for dry, darkish soils of low thermal conductivity.
Satellite measurements of ground temperature taken between 2003 and 2009, taken with the MODIS infrared spectroradiometer on the Aqua satellite, found a maximum temperature of 70.7°C (159.3°F), which was recorded in 2005 in the Lut Desert, Iran. The Lut Desert was also found to have the highest maximum temperature in five of the seven years measured (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009). These measurements reflect averages over a large region and so are lower than the maximum point surface temperature.
Satellite measurements of the surface temperature of Antarctica, taken between 1982 and 2013, found a coldest temperature of −93.2°C (−135.8°F) on 10August 2010, at 81°48′S59°18′E / 81.8°S 59.3°E / -81.8; 59.3. Although this is not comparable to an air temperature, it is believed that the air temperature at this location would have been lower than the official record lowest air temperature of −89.2°C (−128.6°F).
A world map showing areas with KöppenB classification (dry climates). The temperatures of the hot variants (BWh, BSh) of these climates have the potential to exceed 50°C (122°F) during the hottest seasons.
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the highest temperature ever recorded globally is 56.7°C (134.1°F) on 10 July 1913 in Furnace Creek (Greenland Ranch), California, but the validity of this record is challenged as possible problems with the reading have since been discovered. Christopher C. Burt, a weather historian writing for Weather Underground, believes that the 1913 Death Valley reading is "a myth", and is at least 2.2 or 2.8°C (4 or 5°F) too high. Burt proposes that the highest reliably recorded temperature on Earth could still be at Death Valley, but is instead 54.0°C (129.2°F) recorded on 30 June 2013. This is lower than a 1931 measurement of 55°C (131°F) recorded in Kebili, Tunisia, which has been verified by the WMO, although it has been disputed by most meteorologists. The temperature of 54°C (129°F) is also matched by a 1942 record from Tirat Zvi, Israel. In 2016 and 2017, readings in Kuwait and Iran also matched the 2013 Death Valley record, while readings in 2020 and 2021 also at Furnace Creek went even higher, up to 54.4°C (130°F), however, they have not yet been validated by WMO. The WMO has stated they stand by the 1913 record pending any future investigations.
The former highest official temperature on Earth, 58.0°C (136.4°F), measured in ʽAziziya, Libya on 13 September 1922, was reassessed in July 2012 by the WMO which published a report that invalidated the record. Another record hottest temperature was reportedly reached during a severe heat burst that occurred in Kopperl, Texas on 15 June 1960. Also nicknamed "Satan's Storm", the temperature is reported to have increased to around 60°C (140°F) in a matter of minutes during the decay phase of a thunderstorm. This event, however, is poorly known and is not commonly included on lists of the highest globally recorded temperatures. There have been other unconfirmed reports of high temperatures, but these temperatures have never been officially validated by national weather services/WMO, and are currently considered to have been recorder's errors, thus not being recognised as world records.
Highest global average temperature
The warmest day on record for the entire planet was 22 July 2024 when the highest global average temperature was recorded at 17.16°C (62.89°F). The previous record was 17.09°C (62.76°F) set the day before on 21 July 2024. The month of July 2023 was the hottest month on record globally. September 2023 was the most anomalously warm month, averaging 1.75°C (3.15°F) above the preindustrial average for September. The Copernicus Programme (begun 1940) had recorded 13 August 2016, as the hottest global temperature, but by July 2024, that date had been downgraded to the fourth hottest.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) stated in its State of the Global Climate 2025 report that the period from 2015 to 2025 represented the warmest eleven-year span since global temperature records began. The report also indicated that 2025 ranked among the two or three hottest individual years on record globally, with the global mean temperature estimated at approximately 1.43 °C (2.57 °F) above the 1850-1900 preindustrial baseline.
Highest temperature ever recorded north of the 50th parallel north
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Humidity
Highest dew point temperature: A dew point of 35°C (95°F) — while the temperature was 42°C (108°F) — was observed at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, at 3:00p.m. on 8 July 2003. (The relative humidity was 69%).
Highest heat index: In the observation above at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the heat index ("feels like" temperature) was 81.1°C (178.0°F).
Highest temperature with 100% relative humidity: A temperature of 34°C (93°F) with 100% relative humidity in Jask, Iran, on 21 July 2012.
Coldest summer (month of July in the Northern Hemisphere): −33°C (−27.4°F); Summit Camp, Greenland on 4 July 2017.
Lowest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere: −69.6°C (−93.3°F); Greenland Ice Sheet, Greenland on 22 December 1991.
Coldest average monthly temperature in the Northern Hemisphere: −56.7°C (−70.1°F); Verkhoyansk, Russia for the month of January 1892.
Coldest temperature in the tropics: −28.2°C (−18.8°F); Macusani, Peru on 6 July 1968.
Record extreme temperature differences
Greatest 2-minute temperature increase: 27°C (49°F), from −20°C (−4°F) to 7°C (45°F); Spearfish, South Dakota, on 22 January 1943.
Greatest 24-hour temperature increase: +57°C (+102.6°F), from −48°C (−54°F) to 9°C (48°F); Loma, Montana, on 15 January 1972.
Greatest 2 minute temperature drop: 15.0°C (27.0°F) at Sydney Airport, Australia, on 23 January 2010, from 41.0°C (105.8°F) at 3:11PM to 26.0°C (78.8°F) at 3:13PM.
Largest temperature range in one area: 105.8°C (190.4°F), from −67.8°C (−90.0°F) on 15 January 1885, 5,7 February 1892 to 38.0°C (100.4°F) on 20 June 2020; Verkhoyansk, Sakha Republic, Russia
Most from a single tropical cyclone: 6,433mm (253.3in); Commerson, Réunion, during Cyclone Hyacinthe in January 1980.
Highest average annual total (observed over 10 years): 11,872mm (467.4in) (over 38 years) and 12,701mm (500.0in) (1998–2010); Mawsynram, Meghalaya, India or 13,466mm (530.2in) (1980–2011); López de Micay, Cauca, Colombia.
Most consecutive days with measurable rain a day with at least 0.01 inches (0.25mm) of rainfall: 331 days in Oahu, Hawaii, 1939–1940
Snow
Most in a 24-hour period: 230 centimetres (90.6in) of snow on Mount Ibuki, Japan on 14 February 1927.
Most in one calendar month: 9.91meters (390 inches) of snow fell in Tamarack, California, in January 1911, leading to a snow depth in March of 11.46meters (451 inches) (greatest measured in North America).
Most in one season (1 July – 30 June): 29.0meters, (95ft); Mount Baker, Washington, United States, 1998 through 1999.
Most in one-year period: 31.5 meters (102ft); Mount Rainier, Washington, United States, 19 February 1971 to 18 February 1972.
Deepest snowfall recorded: 11.82meters (38.8ft) on Mount Ibuki, Japan on 14 February 1927.
Lowest latitude that snow has been recorded at sea level in North America: Snow fell as far south as the city of Tampico, Mexico, in February 1895 during the Great Freeze.
Highest temperature that has been recorded on a day with snow: On March 12, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia, a high temperature of 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius) was reached shortly after midnight. Later in the day, 2mm of snow were recorded.
Wind speeds
Fastest ever recorded: 484±32km/h (301±20mph) (3-second gust); calculated by a DOW (Doppler On Wheels) radar unit in the 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado between Oklahoma City and Moore, Oklahoma, USA, 3 May 1999. In 2007, the wind speeds were re-examined and adjusted to a maximum official wind speed of 321mph (516.6km/h). A DOW calculation of a subvortex of the 2013 El Reno tornado was estimated in a range of 257–336mph (414–541km/h) in 2024.
The Tri-State Tornado holds many records, including the longest known tornado track, fastest speed for a significant tornado, and the deadliest tornado outside of Bangladesh.
In Australia: Three deaths, Kin Kin, Queensland tornado, 14 August 1971.
Outbreaks
Largest: The 2011 Super Outbreak: 207 confirmed tornadoes occurred in a span of 24 hours on April 27, 2011, with a total of 367 occurring throughout the duration of the outbreak. They affected six US states, and included 33 rated EF2, 21 rated EF3, 11 rated EF4, and 4 rated EF5.
Most severe: The 1974 Super Outbreak produced 7 F5, 23 F4, 34 F3, and 34 F2 tornadoes on April 3–4, 1974. It received a score on expert Thomas P. Grazulis's outbreak intensity score of 578, surpassing the 2011 outbreak's score of 378.
Most intense ever recorded on land: 892hPa (26.35inHg); Craig Key, Florida, United States, eye of the Labor Day Hurricane, 2 September 1935. While other landfalling tropical cyclones potentially had lower pressures, data is vague from areas other than the Atlantic basin, especially before the invention of weather satellites.
Most intense landfall (estimated): 884hPa (26.10inHg); Rakiraki District, Viti Levu, Fiji, during Cyclone Winston, 20 February 2016. Although no official land pressure readings were recorded at the landfall site, it is estimated that Winston made landfall with the aforementioned pressure. A reading of 880hPa (26inHg) from Bathurst Bay, Queensland, Australia, during Cyclone Mahina, on 4 March 1899 is disputed to have been recorded by Captain William Porter, the same person who recorded the currently established mark of 914hPa (27inHg). Further evidence to back up this claim comes in the form of an eyewitness estimate for the storm surge at Ninian Bay, 30km from Bathurst Bay, which was said to be approximately 13m. This figure would be consistent with the pressure of 880hPa (26inHg) allegedly recorded by Capt. Porter.
Most precipitation from a single tropical storm: 6,433mm (253.3in); Commerson, Réunion, during Cyclone Hyacinthe in January 1980.
Other severe weather
A picture of the Aurora, Nebraska hailstone, measured at 47.6cm (18.75in) in circumferenceSatellite loop of the record-breaking supercell near Chicago producing intense lightning on June 13, 2022
Largest circumference officially measured:47.6cm (18.75in) circumference, 17.8cm (7.0in) diameter; Aurora, Nebraska, USA, 22 June 2003.
Lightning
Longest lightning bolt: 829km (515mi) ± 8km. On 22 October 2017, extended from eastern Texas to near Kansas City, United States.
Longest duration for a single lightning flash: 17.1 seconds on 18 June 2020 in Uruguay and northern Argentina.
Ultraviolet index
Highest ultraviolet index measured: On 29 December 2003, a UV index of 43.3 was detected at Chile/Bolivia's Licancabur volcano, at 19,423 feet (5,920m) altitude. A light-skinned individual in such conditions may experience moderate sunburn in as little as 4 minutes.
Thunderstorm cloud height
Tallest non-tropical thunderstorm The official confirmed tallest thunderstorm was a supercell that occurred on May 24, 2016 near Nueva Rosita, in rural areas of the Mexican state of Coahuila, in the Big Bend area of the Rio Grande basin. This storm had a cloud top height of 68,000ft (21km; 12.9mi). Lightning from this storm was detected as far as 50–60mi (80–97km) away from the center of the storm. A supercell thunderstorm that struck Chicago, Illinois and surrounding areas on June 13, 2022, may have surpassed its height, being at least over 60,000ft (18km; 11mi) and potentially reaching as high as 65,000–70,000ft (20–21km; 12.3–13.3mi) above the ground.
Highest air pressure ever recorded [above 750 meters (2,461 feet)]: 1084.8hPa (32.03inHg); Tosontsengel, Zavkhan, Mongolia, 19 December 2001. This is the equivalent sea-level pressure; Tosontsengel is located at 1,300 metres (4,300ft) above sea level.
↑The guide highlights Bizë as the coldest area within Tirana County, noting the −34.7 °C minimum as a defining climatic feature of the region's high-altitude terrain. Rather than treating the value as exceptional, it is presented as a distinguishing trait of Bizë's geography within the county's climatic profile.
↑The recorded low of −34.7 °C at Bizë is the lowest well-documented temperature in an inhabited area in Albania, though the source explicitly states Bizë is one of the country's coldest villages rather than the absolute coldest. Temperatures of this level are relatively typical for Albania's continental mountain regions, notably the higher elevations like Mount Korab and the Northern Alps, which annually experience −25 °C temperatures, often approach −35 °C, and occasionally experience exceptional lows near −40 °C, although rarely with formal documentation due to the limited presence of weather stations in those regions.
↑According to the World Meteorological Organization, the reported temperature is the highest recorded in Asia with Israel.
↑A disputed record temperature of 42.9°C (109.4°F) was measured on 25 July 2019 in Deelen, Gelderland.
↑This record is disputed because of the forest fires that occurred around the town of Cauquenes. It is highly probable those fires have influenced this record.
↑The former world record was 43.3°C (110°F) set on 5 July 1918, in Death Valley, California.
↑ This temperature is considered the lowest ever officially recorded in Antarctica and in the World, as it was perceived by ground-positioned thermometers in 1983. Satellite analyses made on 10 August 2010 pointed to a temperature of −93.2°C (−135.8°F) near Dome F in Queen Maud Land, but this record is not officially listed because it was measured by remote sensing methods that are not totally consistent, unlike the 1983 temperature. See Lowest temperature recorded on Earth for details.
↑A reading of −35.5°C (−31.9°F) in Čakovec on 3 February 1929 and −36.0°C (−32.8°F) in Gospić were not measured under standard conditions and are not considered to be official record lows in Croatia.
↑The lowest unofficially measured temperature in Slovenia was recorded at Komna on 9 January 2009 and reached −49°C (−56°F).
↑The records of −34.1°C (−29.4°F) of Clot del Tuc de la Llança, Catalonia, and −35.4°C (−31.7°F) of Vega de Liordes, León, both registered in January 2021, are not recognized by AEMET.
↑"Groundwater Resources of Swaziland"(PDF). Swaziland Ministry of Natural Resources, Land Use and Energy. December 1992. p.7. Archived(PDF) from the original on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
↑"Climatic Extremities in Nepal". Compendium of Environmental Statistics Nepal 2015. Central Bureau of Statistics. 2016. pp.43–44. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
12"Svenska temperaturrekord". Sveriges meteorologiska och hydrologiska institut. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
12"Clima del Uruguay" (in Spanish). Red Académica Uruguaya. Archived from the original on 13 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
12"Boletín meteorológico"[Meteorologic records of Uruguay] (in Spanish). Dirección Nacional de Meteorología. Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
↑"Sudan". Country Pasture/Forage Resource Profiles. Food and Agriculture Organization. Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
↑"Country profile". mineconom.gov.kg. Ministry of Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
↑Dorninger, Manfred (29 November 2003). "Das Grünloch"(PDF). web.archive.org. Wayback Machine. Archived from the original(PDF) on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
↑Baglasov Andrey; Belov Alexandr; Sinitsa Valentina; Bychenkov Alexandr. "Department of Hydrometeorology". Pogoda.by. Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
↑Cassá Bernaldo de Quirós, Constancio (July 2012). "Valle Nuevo: su historia y naturaleza"(PDF). Clío (in Spanish) (184). Academia Dominicana de la Historia: 222. Archived from the original(PDF) on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
↑"História de Caçador"[Quarta-feira pode ter recorde de temperatura mínima neste ano em Santa Catarina] (in Portuguese). A Notícia. 2010. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2010. Caçador has the lowest recorded temperature, officially, in Brazil, of −14°C in 1952. Another record, unofficial, of −17.8°C in 1996-06-29, at the summit of Morro da Igreja, Urubici, also in Santa Catarina, would give the record to this locality.
↑Frank H. Forrester, 1001 Questions Answered about the Weather (ISBN0-486-24218-8), page 235: "The greatest amount of snowfall for a calendar month occurred at Tamarack, California, in January, 1911–390 inches."
↑"News". The Weather Channel. 10 February 2015. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
↑Extreme Weather: A Guide and Record Book; Christopher Burt; 2007
