Typical temperature measurement conditions are in the air, 1.5 meters above ground and not in direct contact with sunlight. The highest confirmed Earth temperature recorded under these conditions was 56.7 ° C (134.1 ° F) at Furnace Creek Ranch, California, located in the Death Valley in the United States on July 10, 1913! One of the reasons Furnace Creek is so incredibly hot is because it is about 190 feet below sea level, and the air heats as it goes down.