A World Meteorological Organization (WMO) committee officially evaluated temperature record extremes of 54.0°C at two locations, one in Mitribah, Kuwait on July 21, 2016 and a second in Turbat, Pakistan on May 28, 2017. The committee agreed that quantity and quality of documentation of both observations were excellent. Additional metrological testing of the equipment focused on three aspects: the calibration of both thermomete...

Temperature has always been a central quantity in meteorology and plays a key role in weather forecast and climate determination. Long temperature series are a useful tool both as a direct indicator of global climatic trends and as input to climate models. However, ensuring the quality of the data records is challenging, with issues arising from the wide range of sensors used, how the sensors were calibrated, and how the data...