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Extreme weather records in the UK and around the world

Sun-flower-in-the-sun.Image source, Getty Images

The weather is never out of the news. It effects everything, and everyone.

Newsround has put together a little collection of some of the record highs and lows to show the extremes of the weather we have to handle.

Get your coat. And a hat. You'll probably need an umbrella too. Maybe put those sunglasses and sun cream in your bag too.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Death Valley is known for having harsh temperatures

The hottest

According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth was 56.7C on 10 July 1913 in Death Valley in the US state of California.

However some people disagree, according to analysis from weather historian Christopher Burt, other temperatures in the region recorded in 1913 mean the reading at Death Valley was unreliable.

Another record temperature for the planet - 55C - was recorded in Tunisia in 1931, but Christopher Burt said this reading, as well as others recorded in Africa during a time when African nations were controlled by European countries, had "serious credibility issues".

Therefore the hottest temperature actually reliably recorded in 2020, again in Death Valley in California, was on the 16 August when a temperature of 54.4C was recorded.

The highest temperature ever in the United Kingdom is 38.7C, which was recorded in Cambridge in 2019.

Image source, Other
Image caption,

The remote Russian Vostok Station built in 1956 in Antartica. It recorded the Earth's coldest temperature in 1983.

The coldest

The lowest temperature ever recorded at ground level on Earth is −89.2C, which means you'd need more than a big coat in that weather!

The temperature was taken at Russia's Vostok research station in Antarctica during the winter of 1983.

For comparison, the coldest temperature ever recorded in UK was -27.2C, twice. Once in Braemar in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and again most recently in 1995 in Sutherland, in the highlands of Scotland.

Most rain

The World Meteorological Organization, say a record 1,825 mm or 71.8 inches of rain (which would be enough to submerge Marcus Rashford in, to give you an idea how deep we are talking here) fell in 24 hours at Foc-Foc on the French island territory of Réunion in the Indian Ocean in January 1966.

The event occurred as the tropical cyclone Denise passed over the island.

The most rain to fall in a day in the UK occurred in 2015 during Storm Desmond when 341.4 mm (13.44 inches) fell on the Honister Pass in the Lake District.

The storm caused widespread flooding across Cumbria and many people had to temporarily leave their homes.

Media caption,

Watch Ricky's report here...

The biggest storm

In 2015 Hurricane Patricia passed across Mexico and the southern United States, the storm was recorded as the most intense tropical cyclone on record worldwide. Patricia's wind speed hit 215 mph which is faster than a passenger plane at take off!

In terms of the biggest storm ever recorded, that was Typhoon Tip back in 1979 which moved across the Pacific ocean and the south of Japan.

Not only did it have a peak wind speed of 190 mph it was absolutely massive stretching 1,380 miles which is about the distance between the south of England all the way to the south of Spain.

Media caption,

Martin reports on the impact of Hurricane Patricia on Mexico

There have been plenty of big storms in the UK, one of the most famous is the Great Storm of 1987 when hurricane force winds hit the UK causing over £1 billion in damage.

An estimated 15 million trees were lost, thousands of homes were without power for several days and wreckage blocked the roads and railways across the country.

Image source, Vincenzo Giuliano/ Scapestrati/Capracotta
Image caption,

Capracotta, Italy after a massive 256cm of snowfall on 6 March 2015

Most snow in a day

The Italian village of Capracotta got 256 centimetres (100.8 inches) of snow back in March 2015, which is believed to be the all-time record for the most snow in 24 hours.

The snow was higher than cars and door frames, and although this is not an official record because snowfall is quite hard to record accurately, that's more than enough to make several snowmen!

The snowiest winter in the United Kingdom was 1947. Between 22 January and 17 March, snow fell every day somewhere in Britain.

The deepest was recorded in Forest-in-Teesdale, County Durham on the 14 March 1947 where there was 211 cm (83 inches) of snow.