FARGO — The hottest officially recognized temperatures on Earth recorded by actual thermometers are Death Valley, California, at 134 degrees. The coldest is -127 degrees at the Vostok science station in Antarctica.
However, these are only the most extreme instrument-recorded temperatures. It is certain that hotter and colder temperatures have occurred without being measured.
Using infrared radiation sensors, the MODIS orbiting satellite has estimated a temperature of 159 degrees in the Lut Desert in Iran over a field of dark-colored pebbles. The coldest satellite temperature estimate is -139 degrees at 12,000 feet near an Antarctic mountain called Dome Argus. Because the method of estimating temperature from satellite is different from actual thermometer readings, these satellite numbers do not count as records, but it is likely they represent something close to actual extreme temperatures.
The Trust Project
