Dear Tom,
Our fifth-grade science class is studying the sun. Can you tell us the highest and lowest temperatures in the world?
— Chloe, Justin, Michael and Danielle, Fernway Park Elementary School, Orland Park
Dear students,
The temperature extremes on our planet span an amazing 265 degrees. The world’s highest temperature of 136 degrees was recorded at El Azizia, Libya, on Sept. 13, 1922. The lowest was 129 degrees below zero at Vostok, Antarctica, on July 21, 1983. Temperature extremes in the U.S. cover a substantial but smaller range of 214 degrees. The nation’s highest temperature was 134 in Death Valley, Calif., on July 10, 1913. The lowest was 80 below zero at Prospect Creek, Alaska, on Jan. 23, 1971. The lowest reading in the continental U.S. was 70 degrees below zero at Rogers Pass in Montana on Jan. 20, 1954.
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