List of weather records
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
Measuring conditions
The standard measuring conditions for temperature are in the air, to above the ground, and shielded from direct sunlight intensity. The following lists include all officially confirmed claims measured by those methods.Temperatures measured directly on the ground may exceed air temperatures by. The highest natural ground surface temperature ever recorded may have been an alleged reading of at Furnace Creek, California, United States, on 15 July 1972. In 2011, a ground temperature of was recorded in Port Sudan, Sudan. The theoretical maximum possible ground surface temperature has been estimated to be between 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, 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. 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 on 10 August 2010, at. 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.
Hottest
Highest temperatures ever recorded
According to the World Meteorological Organization, the highest temperature ever recorded was on 10 July 1913 in Furnace Creek, California, United States, but the validity of this record is challengedas 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 too high. Burt proposes that the highest reliably recorded temperature on Earth could still be at Death Valley, but is instead recorded on 30 June 2013. This is lower than a 1931 measurement of recorded in Kebili, Tunisia, the 55 °C temperature is verified by the WMO, although it has been disputed by some meteorologists. The temperature of is also matched by a 1942 record from Tirat Zvi, a Jewish settlement under the British Mandate in the Middle East). 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, 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,, measured in ʽAziziya, Libya on 13 September 1922, was reassessed in July 2012 by the WMO which published a report that invalidated the record. 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. The previous record was 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 above the preindustrial average for September. The Copernicus Programme had recorded 13 August 2016, as the hottest global temperature, but by July 2024, that date had been downgraded to the fourth hottest.Humidity
Highest dew point temperature: A dew point of — while the temperature was — was observed at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, at 3:00 p.m. on 8 July 2003..Highest heat index: In the observation above at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the heat index was.Highest temperature with 100% relative humidity: A temperature of with 100% relative humidity in Jask, Iran, on 21 July 2012.Coldest
Lowest temperatures recorded
The lowest temperature recorded is, in Vostok Station, Antarctica on 21 July 1983.Other low-temperature records
Coldest summer : ; Summit Camp, Greenland on 4 July 2017.Lowest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere: ; Greenland Ice Sheet, Greenland on 22 December 1991.Coldest average monthly temperature in the Northern Hemisphere: ; Verkhoyansk, Russia for the month of January 1892.Coldest temperature in the tropics: ; Mazocruz, Peru on 30 June 1966.Record extreme temperature differences
Greatest 2-minute temperature increase: 27 °C, from to ; Spearfish, South Dakota, on 22 January 1943.Greatest 24-hour temperature increase: +57 °C, from to ; Loma, Montana, on 15 January 1972.Fastest 2 minute temperature drop: 15.0 °C at Sydney Airport, Australia, on 23 January 2010, from at 3:11PM to at 3:13PM. Largest temperature range in one area: 105.8 °C, from on 15 January 1885, 5,7 February 1892 to on 20 June 2020; Verkhoyansk, Sakha Republic, RussiaPrecipitation
Least per year : per year or less, Quillagua, Antofagasta Region, Chile.Rain
Most in 60 seconds :. Barot, Sainte-Anne, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, France 11:03–11:04 am on 26 November 1970.Most in 180 seconds :. Portobelo, Colón, Panama, 29 November 1911Most in 300 seconds :. Portobelo, Colón, Panama, 29 November 1911Most in 60 minutes :. Holt, Missouri, United States, 22 June 1947.Most in 12 hours : ; Cilaos, Réunion, 8 January 1966, during Tropical Cyclone Denise.Most in 24 hours : ; Cilaos, Réunion, 7–8 January 1966, during Tropical Cyclone Denise.Most in 48 hours : ; Cherrapunji, Meghalaya, India, 15–16 June 1995.Most in 72 hours : ; Commerson, Réunion, 24–26 February 2007, during Cyclone Gamede.Most in 96 hours : ; Commerson, Réunion, 24–27 February 2007, during Cyclone Gamede.Most in one year: ; Cherrapunji, Meghalaya, India, 1860–1861.Most from a single tropical cyclone: ; Commerson, Réunion, during Cyclone Hyacinthe in January 1980.Highest average annual total : and ; Mawsynram, Meghalaya, India or ; López de Micay, Cauca, Colombia.Most consecutive days with measurable rain a day with at least of rainfall: 331 days in Oahu, Hawaii, 1939–1940Snow
- Most in a 24-hour period: of snow on Mount Ibuki, Japan on 14 February 1927.
- Most in one calendar month: 9.91 meters of snow fell in Tamarack, California, in January 1911, leading to a snow depth in March of 11.46 meters .
- Most in one season : 29.0 meters, ; Mount Baker, Washington, United States, 1998 through 1999.Most in one-year period: 31.5 meters ; Mount Rainier, Washington, United States, 19 February 1971 to 18 February 1972.
- Deepest snowfall recorded: 11.82 meters 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.