Environment

Global Temperature Extremes

The week's hottest temperature was 116.0 degrees Fahrenheit (46.7 degrees Celsius) in Moomba, South Australia.

The week's coldest temperature was minus 85.0 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 65.0 degrees Celsius) at the South Pole, Antarctica.

Temperatures were tabulated from the more than 10,000 worldwide synoptic weather stations. The United Nations World Meteorological Organization sets the standards for weather observations, and provides a global telecommunications circuit for data distribution.

Qatari Chill

The desert state of Qatar experienced its coldest temperature on record with the mercury dipping to just above freezing on the morning of Feb. 5.

The Abu Samra weather station, in the southwest of the country, recorded a minimum temperature of 34.7 degrees Fahrenheit, beating the old record of 38.8 degrees set in January 1964.

The country’s meteorological department blamed the chilling north winds on the same Siberian high pressure area that also brought a deep freeze to Eastern Europe and the Balkans.