No. 2 The 130-Degree F Reading in Death Valley Is A World Record

 

Pro: The old record of 134 degrees F in 1913 is flawed should be discarded.

But the observation will not count as an official world record. In 2013, the World Meteorological Organization officially decertified the official all-time hottest temperature in world history, a 136.4 degrees Fahrenheit reading from Al Azizia, Libya, in 1923. (Burt was a member of the WMO team that made the determination.) After the abandonment of the Libya record, the official world record was given to a 134 degrees Fahrenheit measurement taken at Death Valley on July 10, 1913.

However, this record has been strongly disputed by Burt and Herrera.

“The old Death Valley record from July 1913 is 100% bogus (not just 99.9% such), as are all other temperature readings of 130 degrees Fahrenheit or higher from Africa in the past,” Burt said.

In 2012 the WMO (World Meteorological Organization) disallowed what had long been considered the hottest air temperature ever measured on Earth: a 58.0°C (136.4°F) reading measured at El Azizia, Libya on September 13, 1922. 

As a result of this record being struck from the books, the temperature of 134°F (56.7°C) recorded at Greenland Ranch at Furnace Creek in Death Valley, California on July 10, 1913 became, by default, the new world’s hottest air temperature yet measured. In this guest blog we will investigate the credibility of that measurement

Burt wrote a detailed 2016 blog post at Weather Underground challenging the 1913 record at Death Valley, explaining that official readings of 134, 130, and 131 degrees Fahrenheit taken on July 10, 12, and 13, 1913 were likely the result of an inexperienced observer. In order for the 1913 Death Valley record to be decertified, though, an official World Meteorological Organization investigation committee would have to be assembled to look into the matter, a years-long process for which there is currently no motivation.

Con: 134 degrees in 1913 is still the official record and there is no reason to change it.

According to the National Weather Service, this dispute is a non-issue and 1913 holds the record. See the Tweet below from July 9, 2021.

But here’s something the media tends to ignore. July 1913 had several days at or above 128°F. This is simply “business as usual” for Death Valley. In fact, back in 1913, over 100 years of “global warming” ago, Death Valley’s official weather station at Greenland Ranch also hit 130°F or higher three times that July. 

This was an intense stretch of hot weather from the 5th through the 14th when the high temperature reached 125°F or higher each and every day. In fact, this 10-day stretch still ranks as the hottest stretch ever recorded in Death Valley. 

The hottest days in this time period occurred from the 9th through the 13th when the high temperature reached at least 129°F with the hottest being on July 10th when the record-breaking 134°F was measured.

Here is the table of high temperature records for Death Valley. Note the top three records occurred during July 1913. Six of the top 25 records were in July 1913. So much for Burt’s opinion of “meteorologically impossible” and “observer error”.

Until such time it is decertified by the World Meteorological Organization, this “unreliable” opinion about a well-known temperature record accepted for over 100 years remains flat out wrong. The 134°F maximum temperature as being the hottest-ever remains fact.

No. 1 Coral Reefs are Dying Because of Climate Change.

  Pro: Coral Reefs are Dying From The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Climate change is the greatest global threat to coral reef ecosystems. Scientific evidence now clearly indicates that the Earth’s atmosphere and ocean are warming, and that these changes are primarily due to greenhouse gases derived from human activities. As temperatures rise, mass coral bleaching events … are becoming more frequent.  

Additionally, carbon dioxide absorbed into the ocean from the atmosphere has already begun to reduce calcification rates in reef-building and reef-associated organisms by altering seawater chemistry through decreases in pH. This process is called ocean acidification. 

 Climate change will affect coral reef ecosystems, through sea level rise, changes to the frequency and intensity of tropical storms, and altered ocean circulation patterns. When combined, all of these impacts dramatically … [harm coral reef] ecosystems … around the globe.

 Con: Coral Reefs are Thriving Coral reefs are thriving around the globe. Coral has existed continuously for the past 40 million years, surviving temperatures and carbon dioxide levels significantly higher and lower than what is occurring today.

Since the peak of the last glacial maximum 33-26 thousand years ago, global average temperature reached its highest point approximately 7,000 years ago, at least 1 or 2 degrees C higher than today, during which coral reefs thrived.

 

Coral requires warm water, not cold water, to live. Coral cannot live outside of tropical or subtropical waters. Coral reefs thrive in locations throughout the globe where temperatures range from site to site by as much as 20 degrees Fahrenheit, from the most Northern or most Southern sites to the most equatorial sites. The temperature at coral reef sites range by over 20 degrees Fahrenheit from Summer to Winter at some locations around the world. 

Thus, coral reefs have proven to thrive in a substantial range of temperature environments, including temperatures that exceed those where coral bleaching has occurred. 

As Earth continues its modest warming since the peak of the Little Ice Age 400 years ago, coral reefs have extended their range toward the poles while still thriving at and near the equator. 

Temperature Swings: Short-term heatwaves or cold snaps can cause bleaching events, but historically, such events have occurred long before the recent warming since the peak of the Little Ice Age. 

Moreover, studies show coral can and have been adapting to the gradual long-term pace of global warming that has occurred since the peak of the Little Ice Age. History shows that cold snaps can harm coral much worse than warm spells. 

In 2010, colder ocean temperatures off the coast of Florida killed more coral than any warm-water event. And, despite these events, coral reefs recover over the course of several years or sometimes, even quicker.

Courtesy "Everything Climate "