'Highest temperature on Earth' as Death Valley, US hits 54.4C
What could be the highest temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth - 130F (54.4C) - may have been reached in Death Valley National Park, California.
The recording is being verified by the US National Weather Service.
It comes amid a heatwave on the US's west coast, where temperatures are forecast to rise further this week.
The scorching conditions have led to two days of blackouts in California, after a power plant malfunctioned on Saturday.
"It's an oppressive heat and it's in your face," Brandi Stewart, who works at Death Valley National Park, told the BBC.
Ms Stewart has lived and worked at the national park on and off for five years. She spends a lot of her time indoors in August because it's simply too uncomfortable to be outside.
"When you walk outside it's like being hit in the face with a bunch of hairdryers," she said. "You feel the heat and it's like walking into an oven and the heat is just all around you."
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