Record temperatures have been reached at Death Valley National Park during summer 2024, the National Park Service (NPS) has revealed. Between June and August 2024, the average 24-hour temperature in the park was 104.5°F (40.3°C) the Service said, which beats the previous record of 104.2°F (40.1°C), first reached in 2018 and then equalled in 2021.
Heat trap, even at night
Those temperatures are exacerbated by the area’s geography, including North America’s lowest point, Badwater Basin, a salt flat which lies at 282 feet (86 metres) below sea level. Hot air cannot rise from such a low starting point above the neighbouring mountains, meaning a heat trap is created.
The record average was driven up by the hottest July ever recorded, with nine consecutive days at 125° F (51.7°C) or higher, and just seven days on which temperatures did not hit 120° F (48.9°C). The hottest temperature was felt on 7 July when it reached a high of 129.2° F (54°C).
Another factor behind this year’s high average is the fact the temperature did not drop significantly at night time. On nine occasions, supposed overnight lows never cooled to below 100°F (37.8°C), the NPS said. On average, the mercury only fell to 91.9° F (33.3°C) at night and sank to below 80°F (26.7°C) just five times over the entire three month period.
Heat-related incidents
The summer statistics played out in real time tragedies, which have seen park rangers respond to multiple heat-related incidents. A man died of heat exposure at Natural Bridge Trailhead on 1 August 2024 and a motorcyclist died on 6 July after the group of six he was travelling were all treated for heat illness.
Other rescues have included that of a man who suffered “full-thickness burns on his feet at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park on Saturday, July 20, 2024”, an NPS press releases said, as well as a park resort employee who “was rescued on August 13, 2024 after becoming severely dehydrated while hiking Panamint Butte.”
Take precautions
The fall season is unlikely to be kinder to visitors to Death Valley, with park authorities predicting temperatures could still be well into triple figures in Fahrenheit, even at the start of October. With that in mind, the NPS has issued advice to visitors, recommending they “stay within a 10-minute walk of an air-conditioned vehicle, drink plenty of water, eat salty snacks, and wear a hat and sunscreen.”
