Death Valley, hottest place on Earth, hits near-record high as blistering heat wave continues

Death Valley, Calif. — Long the hottest place on Earth, Death Valley put a sizzling exclamation point Sunday on a record warm summer that's baking nearly the entire globe by flirting with some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, meteorologists said.

Temperatures in Death Valley, which runs along part of central California's border with Nevada, reached 125.6 degrees Fahrenheit Sunday at the aptly named Furnace Creek, the National Weather Service said.

The hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 134 degrees in July 1913 at Furnace Creek, said Randy Ceverny of the World Meteorological Organization, the body recognized as keeper of world records. Temperatures at or above 130 degrees have only been recorded on Earth a handful of times, mostly in Death Valley.