One of the hottest air temperatures recorded anywhere on the planet in at least a century, and possibly ever, was reached on Sunday afternoon at Death Valley in California's Mojave Desert, where it soared to 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 degrees Celsius).

An automated observation system run by the US National Weather Service in the valley's sparsely populated Furnace Creek reported the record at 3.41pm local time at the crest of an extreme heatwave, a more frequent occurrence due to climate change...