All-time record heat scorches Middle East as temperatures hit 129 degrees

Temperatures soared to over 129 degrees in the Middle East Thursday and Friday, possibly setting all-time records for the Eastern Hemisphere.

The temperature in Mitribah, Kuwait, Thursday soared to 129.2 degrees, which if verified, would be Earth's hottest temperature ever reliably measured outside of Death Valley, Calif., according to the Weather Underground's weather historian Christopher C. Burt.

On Friday, Basra, Iraq, reached that same torrid temperature, setting an all-time record for that nation.

The world's all-time hottest temperature was recorded at 134 degrees in Death Valley in 1913. But Burt questions that measurement.

Heat index readings in the Middle East also reached extreme levels Thursday and Friday, with some spots in Iran and the United Arab Emirates reaching a heat index of 140 degrees due to stifling levels of humidity. However, as the Capital Weather Gang notes, a heat index reading of 140 degrees is actually beyond the levels the heat index is designed to measure.

Temperatures in the Middle East should cool slightly over the next few days, with no more record heat is likely. On Saturday, the ridge of high pressure bringing the record heat will weaken, Weather Underground reports, bringing temperatures about 10 degrees cooler to Iraq and Kuwait, and about 2-4 degrees cooler to Iran.

All of the maps below show temperatures in degrees Celsius. For comparison, temperatures in the low 50s Celsius are equal to temperatures in the high 120s Fahrenheit.