As heat waves continue across the United States and Europe, Sicily recorded a potentially record-breaking temperature of 119.84 Fahrenheit on Wednesday.
If verified by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), it would be the hottest day on record for Europe. Currently, the continent’s hottest verified temperature stands at 118.4 degrees Fahrenheit and was recorded in Greece on July 10, 1977.
Elsewhere in Europe, fires have devastated parts of Greece, affecting Turkey as well. In the United States, nearly 200 million people are under some form of heat advisory, with many cities seeing abnormally high temperatures this summer. This week, the United Nations released a climate report that showed climate change accelerating.
This graphic shows the highest recorded temperatures for each continent. While some records are recent, others date back more than a century.
These are the temperature records per continent:
Europe: 118.4° F in Greece on July 10, 1977.
- A temperature of almost 120 degrees F was reported in Sicily on Wednesday; however, it will not be the record unless the WMO verifies it.
North America: 134° F in Furnace Creek (Death Valley), California, on July 10, 1913.
- Note: This record has been disputed though, and another high temperature was recently recorded as 130° F on July 9, in Death Valley, that’s awaiting verification.
South America: 120° F in Rivadavia, Argentina, on Dec. 11, 1905.
Africa: 131° F in Kebili, Tunisia, on July 7, 1931.
Asia: 129.0° F ± 0.2° in Mitribah, Kuwait, on July 21, 2016.
Antarctica: 64.9° F on Feb. 6, 2020.
Australia: 123° F in Oodnadatta on Jan. 2, 1960.
