Death Valley in California.
Located in the Mojade Desert in southwestern California , the death Valley It is already considered one of the hottest places on the planet, especially in summer, when its temperatures average 46 degrees centigrade.
There are various reasons for this. , and the less surprising. “This National Park is known for its extremes and is one of the hottest places on Earth, along with the Middle East. It has a subtropical and hot desert climate with extremely hot summers , short and mild winters and little rainfall”, tells Traveler.es Mar Gómez, head of the meteorology area at eltiempo.es and doctor in Physics.
Its high temperatures can be attributed to a set of geographical and orographic factors. "For example, the valley region suffers from significant solar heating due to the scarce vegetation cover and dominance of earth, rock or sand, and especially during the summer. Due to the geographical location, between four mountain ranges, the hot air subject to continuous heating is trapped by the walls of the mountains in the interior and bottom of the valley”, she points out.
The hot air remains stagnant together with the daily insolation and causes the temperature to rise reaching extreme values, like the one assumed this August 16, whose historical maximum has registered 130ºF (54.4º Celsius), according to data from the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center.
“Furthermore, the arrival of warm air from other regions, especially to the south and east, and warm mountain winds, such as those resulting from the Foehn effect, mean that the air masses that reach this region are especially overheated,” adds Mar Gómez from eltiempo.es.
The question is whether or not this value has been historical for the valley, since in July 1913, in the same area of Furnace Creek , the historical number of 56.7ºC.
At the moment the experts doubt it since the same means of temperature control did not exist as now, and they are awaiting the validation of the WHO. However, it has been much higher than the previous year, which was 51.7ºC, according to data from the NOAA (National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration).
THE EFFECTS OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS
But how do these temperatures affect the environment and the people who live in the valley? Are these due to the climate crisis?
"Obviously, these high temperatures and low rainfall have an impact on the ecosystem and on the possibility of inhabiting this place," underlines the eltiempo.es expert.
Although it seems strange, the valley has considerable biodiversity. Among them, flowers that are watered by the thaw, falcons and donkeys that drink from the water springs, and of course, the inhabitants of the valley. Some 31 people from the Tumbishas Indian tribe who work in the park's tourist complex.
“These high temperatures in humans can cause frequent heat strokes and health problems, which is why human populations are not settled there. Also, water resources are scarce and it would be difficult to supply a community”.
While it is true that the valley and California are used to experiencing heat waves in summer, they are not as high as this summer. They are normally accompanied by electrical storms that, as Mar Gómez explains, they will be more frequent and intense in the coming years, but not only here but throughout the world.
"In the future, temperatures will be even higher than now and with summers, which especially in our country, are getting longer and warmer."
In this sense, our country is also registering extreme temperatures . In Spain, so far this year the highest value has been in Vélez, Málaga. On August 2, 45.7ºC were reached.
Although at the moment the figure for 2017 has not been exceeded, when Córdoba reached 47.3ºC.