User:Howardrford

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The following table lists records of extreme temperature by continent and by territory (via links in the table). Some of the data are known territorial temperature extremes, but the majority are merely the highest and lowest temperatures found by research. In either case, these records will always be subject to revision.

Where possible or appropriate, data excludes temperature readings taken in uninhabited locations, particularly those at high altitude. This is to provide information that is more representative of the climates of each territory. Where known, data from high altitudes is included in footnotes.

Where the precision of a temperature is known only to the nearest degree, the data is recorded as such, so that a published temperature of 45°C is recorded as “45°C”, not “45.0°C”,

Unfortunately, there are many instances in which over-exposure of thermometers or transcription errors have resulted in incorrect data being treated as authentic. There are many examples of this, and there may be some of these in this table, but an attempt has been made to remove the more obvious of them.

Where available, the source of the data has been provided as a footnote. For data servers, only the internet address of the main station page is given: researchers interested in obtaining the specific information must navigate from the given page to the place and date of interest.

Also note that dates associated with temperature records are given as accurately as possible. Dating of records may differ from the actual dates of recording due to the many different sources of information used, the time of day or night that records were reached, time zone differences and the various processes associated with reporting the data. The dates given here are those obtained from the original sources.

NOTE: Information displayed here is still being researched. This is a User Page - if you wish to contribute to it, contact me through Talk.


Continent Lowest Temperature Highest Temperature
T°C Place Date T°C Place Date
World -89.2 Vostok Flag of Antarctica Antarctica [1] 21 July 1983 58.0 Al 'Azīzīyah Flag of Libya Libya [2] 13 September 1922
Africa -23.9 Īfrān (Ifrane) Flag of Morocco Morocco [3] 11 February 1935 58.0 Al 'Azīzīyah Flag of Libya Libya [2] 13 September 1922
Asia -67.7 Oymyakon Flag of Russia Russia [4][5] 6 February 1933 53.7 Tirat Zvi Flag of Israel Israel [6][7] 21 June 1942
Europe -58.1 Ust’-Shchugor Flag of Russia Russia [8] 31 December 1978 48.5 Catenanuova Flag of Italy Italy [9] 10 August 1999
North America -66.1 North Ice Station Flag of Greenland Greenland [10][11] 9 January 1954 53.9 Death Valley Flag of the United States United States [12][13] 18 July 1960, 17 July 1998, 19 July 2005 and 6 July 2007
South America -39.0 Valle de Los Patos Superior Flag of Argentina Argentina [14][15] 17 July 1972 49.1 Villa de María del Río Seco Flag of Argentina Argentina [14] 2 January 1920
Oceania -23.0 Charlotte Pass Flag of Australia Australia [16][17] 29 June 1994 50.7 Oodnadatta Flag of Australia Australia [18] 2 January 1960
Antarctica -89.2 Vostok [1] 21 July 1983 19.8 Signy Island Flag of British Antarctic Territory South Orkney Islands [19][20]

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Fact Sheet No. 9 - Weather Extremes (2007 Edition), National Meteorological Library and Archive, Meteorological Office. Retrieved 4 March 2007.
  2. ^ a b McWhirter, Norris and Ross McWhirter (1969). Dunlop Illustrated Encyclopedia of Facts. Doubleday. ISBN 0385011199.
  3. ^ Fact Sheet No. 9 – Weather extremes, Met Office, UK. Retrieved 27 December 2007.
  4. ^ On the Lowest Temperatures on Earth, Monthly Weather Review, January 1958, pp6-10, NOAA Central Library, Climate Data Imaging Project. Retrieved 18 March 2006.
  5. ^ The next lowest temperature recorded in Asia is -67.6°C at Verkhoyansk Russia on 5 February and 7 February 1892.
  6. ^ Israel in Figures 1999, Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 24 October 2007.
  7. ^ It is believed that the temperature originally recorded as 54.0°C was later corrected downwards.
  8. ^ Europe: Lowest Temperature, Arizona State University - WMO. Retrieved 6 January 2008.
  9. ^ Valori medi e estremi della temperature, Anno 1999, Agenzia Regionale per i Rifiuti e le Acque - Osservatorio delle Acque. Retrieved 5 March 2007.
  10. ^ Przybylak, Rajmund (2003). The Climate of the Arctic. Kluwer Academic Publishers. ISBN 1402011342.
  11. ^ This research station is located on the uninhabited high altitude Greenland ice cap. The lowest temperature recorded at an inhabited place is -63.0°C at Snag Canada on 3 February 1947.
  12. ^ Weather and Climate, Death Valley National Park, National Park Service. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  13. ^ This Month’s Highs and Lows, USAToday. Retrieved 8 July 2007.
  14. ^ a b Datos extremos en el país y en el mundo, Servicio Meteorológico Nacional. Retrieved 2 March 2007.
  15. ^ This is probably an uninhabited area. The lowest temperature recorded at an inhabited place is probably -37.0°C at Coyhaique Alto Chile on 21 June 2002.
  16. ^ Climate Statistics for Australian Locations: Charlotte Pass (Kosciusko Chalet), Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  17. ^ Charlotte Pass is a ski resort with little or no permanent population. The lowest temperature recorded at a permanently inhabited location is -21.6°C at Ophir New Zealand on 3 July 1995.
  18. ^ Climate Statistics for Australian Locations: Oodnadatta Airport, Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 9 January 2008.
  19. ^ The Antarctic Treaty, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
  20. ^ The highest temperature recorded on the Antarctic mainland is 15.0°C at Vanda Station, Victoria Land on 5 January 1974.