Did this Iranian city record the world's hottest temperature?

Temperature in Ahvaz hit 54 degrees Celsius

Temperatures in Ahvaz, a city in southwest Iran, soared to 53.7 degrees Celsius making it the country's hottest temperature recorded, reported The Washington Post. It is also the highest June temperature in Asia on record.

The information came from Etienne Kapikian, a French meteorologist. Kapikian said the temperature is a “new absolute national record of reliable Iranian heat”. Iran's previous highest temperature was 53 degrees Celsius.

53.7°C à Ahwaz #Iran ce 29 juin ! nouveau record absolu national de #chaleur iranien fiable & record mensuel (juin) pour le continent #Asie pic.twitter.com/nVPaXtnyBB

— Etienne Kapikian (@EKMeteo) June 29, 2017

Weather Underground's website indicated that temperature in Ahvaz climbed even higher and hit 54 degrees Celsius at 4:51pm and 5:00pm local time. If this reading is accurate, it would tie the hottest temperature ever measured on Earth.

Christopher Burth, a weather historian for Weather Underground, has analysed world temperatures and indicated that 54 degrees Celsius was recorded twice in modern times. Mitribah, Kuwait on July 21, 2016 and Death Valley, California on June 30, 2013.

For the 54 degree-reading Ahvaz posted on Weather Underground it would require review by the World Meterological Organisation.



Ahvaz's temperature comes just a month after several locations in Middle East and South Asia recorded hottest May temperatures. On May 28, Turbat in Pakistan hit 53.5 degrees Celsius which tied the all time highest temperature in the country and also the world record temperature for May.