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(CNN) — Death Valley was the hottest place on Earth on Sunday. If confirmed, it could be the highest recorded temperature in the world since 1913.
The warmest, driest and lowest national park in California and Nevada recorded a preliminary temperature of about 54.4 degrees Celsius (about 130 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday, according the National Weather Service (NWS). The all-time high of 56.6 degrees Celsius (134 degrees Fahrenheit), reported more than 100 years ago, was also recorded there.
It will be just as hot on Monday in Death Valley with a forecast maximum temperature of 53.9 degrees Celsius, according the NWS. The agency advises people living in eastern California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah to limit their time outdoors between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m.
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Nearly 60 million people in the US, from Arizona to the Canadian border, are under a heat watch, watch or warning this week, CNN meteorologist Tyler Mauldin said. The heat is the result of the high pressure that sits over much of the west coast.
Usually the west and southwest of U.S experience the North American monsoon during this time of year, said Daniel Berc, coordinating advisory meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Las Vegas.
But the monsoon has not developed as it usually does in heavy rains. Death Valley, or the Valley of Death in Spanish, is getting hotter under high pressure, Berc told CNN.
It’s been a sweltering summer for much of the U.S. – Last month was the hottest July on record in seven states along the East Coast, according the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, for its acronym in English).
Not to be outdone, Death Valley also reported a high of 53.3 degrees Celsius last month, its highest temperature (until this month) since 2013, NOAA reported.
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