The WMO has revealed data from two measurements taken in 2016 and 2017 in Kuwait and Pakistan, showing temperatures approaching the all-time absolute record.
Following an in-depth assessment that lasted several years, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has confirmed that it recorded extreme temperatures in Kuwait and Pakistan. So high, in fact, as to come close to the record of records — that is, the highest figure ever registered by a thermometer on the surface of the Earth.
The two measurements were taken at the Mitribah weather station in north-west Kuwait (where the reading reached 53.9 degrees on 21 July 2016) and in Turbat, Pakistan (where the temperature hit 53.7 degrees on 27 May 2017). The United Nations agency stressed that these represent the highest levels ever recorded in the Asian region.
More broadly, the two observations rank third and fourth of all time, worldwide. "It is clear that Asia is warming ever more rapidly," Omar Baddour, head of the World Weather Data Programme at the WMO, explained to UN Info magazine.
According to the expert, "this also confirms the global warming trend. And if we look at these two records in Kuwait and Pakistan, we can see that only one year separates them. Which means that these kinds of temperature peaks are becoming ever more frequent."
The all-time record has stood since 10 July 1913. At the time, 56.7 degrees celsius was reported at Furnace Creek in Death Valley, California. However, many scientists question the reliability of that figure, given the instrumentation available at the time.
"In any case," Baddour commented, "that record too will probably be broken soon. And this cannot be explained in any way other than by factors related to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere. In other words, we are beginning to see first-hand the speed of global warming, especially in certain regions of the globe."
