Death Valley National Park set another record in July.
The area known as the hottest place on Earth saw an average July temperature of 108.5 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. It beat the previous record of 108.1 degrees in July 2018.
The average high temperature last month in Death Valley was 121.9 degrees, breaking the record set in July 1917.
The National Weather Service maintains a temperature sensor in Furnace Creek in Death Valley.
“It’s pretty hot out there,” said Morgan Stessman, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Las Vegas office.
Further south, a California city near the Arizona border also boasted a new record for the hottest monthly average temperature in the country.
Needles on average 103.2 degrees in Julysurpassing Phoenix’s July 2023 high average temperature of 102.7 degrees, according to the Arizona State Climate Office.
More punishing temperatures may be on the way. Meteorologist Stessman said there is a 50-60% chance Death Valley will see above normal temperatures for the month of August.
A long, narrow basin near the Nevada border, Death Valley, is 282 feet below sea level. The mountains trap warm air and circulate the heat like a convection oven.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Death Valley was 134 degrees on July 10, 1913. The average high for that month was 116.5 degrees.
In July, a European tourist in Death Valley melted the skin off his feet when he dropped his flip-flops in the sand dunes, park officials said. Also in July, a cyclist in Death Valley died.
The heat hinders the rescue efforts. When the temperature exceeds 120 degrees, a medical helicopter cannot access the park. Air expands when heated, becomes thinner than cold air and helicopters cannot get the lift needed to fly.
Trees and wildlife also suffer. One 2022 study found that thousands of the trees have died at Telescope Peak, the highest point in Death Valley, since 2013.
Other study from 2019 found that about a third of Death Valley’s bird species have declined over the past 100 years due to heat stress associated with climate change.