Middle East temperatures threaten planetary record

Kuwait has a reached a record temperature.
(Image credit: YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP/Getty Images)

In case there was any question about the world's imminent demise, Thursday and Friday saw the hottest temperatures ever recorded on the planet outside of Death Valley. In Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and western Iran, temperatures broke 125 degrees (or 51.6 Celsius); in the town of Mitribah, Kuwait, thermometers rose a smidgen above 129 degrees (or 54 degrees Celsius). Basra, Iraq, which has a population over over a million people, also hit 129.2 degrees on Friday.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.