For some reason I'm quite intrigued
as to what the highest maximum temperatures recorded are for places around
the world. I suppose someone's got to be, but in may case there's no logic
to this as I really don't like hot weather. In fact, if the temperature
stayed between 13C and 24C all year round I'd be quite happy!!! Anyway,
without further ado here are some record maximum temperatures from around
the world:
| Where | How Hot | When |
| Europe | ||
| De Bilt nr. Utrecht, the Netherlands | 36.8C | 27 June 1947 |
| Eelde nr. Groningen, the Netherlands | 36.8C | 23 June 1944 |
| De Kooy nr. Den Helder, the Netherlands | 33.8C | 4 August 1990 |
| Vlissingen, the Netherlands | 34.9C | 23 May 1922 |
| Beek nr. Maastricht, the Netherlands | 38.4C | 27 June 1947 |
| Cheltenham, England | 37.1C | 3 August 1990 |
| Birmingham, England | 34.4C | 11 August 1911 |
| Dumfries, Scotland | 32.8C | 2 July 1908 |
| Basel, Switzerland | 39.3C | 28 July 1921 |
| Seville, Spain | 50.0C | 4 August 1881 |
| USA | ||
| Las Vegas, Nevada | 47.2C | 24 July 1942 |
| San Francisco, California | 39.4C | 17 July 1988 and 14 June 2000 |
| Death Valley, California | 57.0C | 10 July 1913 |
| Seattle, Washington | 37.8C | 20 July 1994 |
| Phoenix, Arizona | 50.0C | 26 June 1990 |
| Tucson, Arizona | 47.2C | 26 June 1990 |
| Anchorage, Alaska | 29.4C | 14 June 1969 |
| Honululu | 34.4C | 18 July 1982 |
| Miami, Florida | 36.7C | 6 August 1954 |
| Miami Beach, Florida | 36.7C | 15 August 1956 |
| Orlando, Florida | 37.8C | 26 June 1950 |
| Daytona Beach, Florida | 38.9C | 15 July 1981 |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 41.1C | 7 August 1918 |
| Atlantic City, New Jersey | 41.1C | 28 June 1969 |
| New York Central Park | 41.1C | 9 July 1936 |
| New York Airport | 41.2C | 3 July 1966 |
| Boston, Massachusetts | 40.0C | 4 July 1911 |
| Chicago, Illinois | 40.6C | 24 July 1934 |
| Salt Lake City, Utah | 41.7C | 26 July 1960 |
| Los Angeles | 43.3C | 26 September 1963 |
| San Diego | 43.9C | 26 September 1963 |
| Louisville, Kentucky | 41.7C | 24 July 1901, 28 July 1930 & 14 July 1936 |
| Minneapolis | 40.6C | 13 July 1936 |
| Cincinnati, Ohio | 42.8C | 21 July 1934 |
| El Paso | 45.6C | 30 June 1994 |
| Denver | 40.6C | 8 August 1878 |
| Canada | ||
| Edmonton, Alberta | 34.4C | 3 June 1970 |
| Calgary, Alberta | 36.1C | 25 July 1933 |
| Lethbridge, Alberta | 39.4C | 10 July 1973 |
| Dauphin, Manitoba | 39.2C | 22 May 1980 |
| Winnipeg, Manitoba | 42.2C | 11 July 1936 |
| Whitehorse, Yukon | 34.4C | 14 June 1969 |
| Windsor, Ontario | 40.2C | 25 June 1988 |
| London, Ontario | 38.2C | 25 June 1988 |
| Niagara Falls, Ontario | 38.3C | 26 August 1948 |
| Kingston, Ontario | 34.3C | 15 July 1983 |
| Toronto, Ontario | 38.3C | 25 August 1948 |
| Regina, Saskatchewan | 43.3C | 5 July 1937 |
| Yellowknife, Northwest Territories | 32.2C | 9 July 1964 |
| Montreal, Quebec | 37.6C | 1 August 1976 |
| Vancouver, British Columbia | 33.3C | 9 August 1960 |
| Prince Rupert, British Columbia | 28.7C | 14 August 1977 |
| Charlottetown, PEI | 34.4C | 12 August 1944 |
| Halifax, Nova Scotia | 34.4C | 22 August 1976 |
| Saint John, New Brunswick | 34.4C | 22 August 1976 |
| Elsewhere | ||
| Tokyo, Japan | 37.9C | 24 July 2001 |
| Hong Kong | 36.1C | 19 August 1900 and 18 August 1990 |
| Canberra, Australia | 42.2C | 11 January 1939 |
| Hobart, Tasmania | 40.8C | 4 January 1976 |
One or two surprising things came out of this spot of research; some places that might have been expected to have a higher record maximum temperature than others didn't; for example, the record maximum temperature in De Bilt in the middle of the Netherlands is higher than that of Barcelona in Spain, Colombo in Sri Lanka, Miami, USA, Hong Kong and Honululu in Hawaii.
Sources
Obviously I didn't know all
these facts off the top of my head. Some I discovered myself, but the I
had to hunt around for the vast majority. Below you'll find a list of my
sources. Incidentally, if any of these facts turn out to be wrong, or records
quoted get broken please
and let me know. Thanks.
Historical
climate summaries for the southeastern USA
Canadian
Climate Normals
The
Climate of Las Vegas
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Dan Suri, last updated 8 July 2002