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2 months ago
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A man from Mississippi has compared walking around in the extreme temperatures of Death Valley, California to being on another planet.
Drew Belt, from Tupelo, Mississippi, went out of his way to make stop in Death Valley, on his way to climb up California's Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states.
Death Valley is also famous as being the location of the lowest elevation in the U.S., some 282 feet below sea level.
'I was excited it was going to be this hot,' Belt said. 'It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. Kind of like walking on Mars.'
Belt posted a picture of himself pretending to play a round of golf in the heart of Death Valley where temperatures have soared to the highs 120s F.
Drew Belt, from Tupelo, Mississippi, went out of his way to make stop in Death Valley to experience the heat. He said it was like being on Mars
Visitors walk near a 'Stop Extreme Heat Danger' sign at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park, California
On Thursday, he finally made it to Mt. Whitney - 14,505 ft above sea level. 'What an adventure!', Belt wrote.
Back on ground, hundreds of Europeans touring the American West and adventurers from around the U.S. have been drawn to Death Valley National Park as the desolate region, known as one of the Earth's hottest places is punished by a dangerous heat wave.
French, Spanish, English and Swiss tourists left their air-conditioned rental cars and motorhomes to take photos of the barren landscape so different than the snow-capped mountains and rolling green hills they are familiar with back home.
American adventurers liked the novelty of it, even as officials at the park in California warned visitors to stay safe.
Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds cautioned visitors in a statement that 'high heat like this can pose real threats to your health.'
Belt finally made his way up California's Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states, some 14,505 ft above sea level
Hundreds of tourists are flocking to California's Death Valley in the middle of a heatwave, despite extreme temperatures being blamed for a motorcyclist's death last weekend
A long exposure image shows the recorded temperature on a thermostat at the Furnace Creek Visitors Center, after 10pm earlier this week, in Death Valley National Park, California
In eastern California's sizzling desert, a high temperature of 128 F (53.3 C) was recorded in Death Valley, where a visitor, who was not identified, died on Saturday from heat exposure. Another person was hospitalized, officials said.
They were among six motorcyclists riding through the Badwater Basin area in scorching weather, park officials said. The other four were treated at the scene.
Emergency medical helicopters were unable to respond because the aircraft cannot generally fly safely over 120 F (48.8 C), officials said.
The largest national park outside Alaska, Death Valley is considered one of the most extreme environments in the world.
The hottest temperature ever officially recorded on Earth was 134 F (56.67 C) in July 1913 in Death Valley, though some experts dispute that measurement and say the real record was 130 F (54.4 C), recorded there in July 2021.
Visitors to Death Valley National Park have been warned they must be 'prepared to survive' as temperatures reach close to record highs
A visitor rests shortly after sunrise, when temperatures are less hot, at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes
A vehicle drives as heat waves shimmer on the asphalt. Death Valley is the hottest and driest place in the United States
Tracy Housley, from Manchester, England, decided to drive from her hotel in Las Vegas to Death Valley after hearing on the radio that temperatures would be at record levels.
'We just thought, let's be there for that,' Housley said. 'Let's go for the experience.'
'It's impressive,' Thomas Mrzliek of Basel, Switzerland, said of the triple digit heat. 'It like a wave that hits when you get out of the car, but it's a very dry heat. So it's not as in Europe.'
Across the desert in Nevada, Las Vegas set a record high of 120 F (48.8 C) on Sunday.
Death Valley still holds the record for hottest air temperature ever recorded which was 134F set in July 1913. Pictured, the Badwater Basin salt flats
Tourists pose next to an unofficial thermometer in the afternoon heat at Furnace Creek Visitor Center
Despite the warnings, the tourists are still coming to experience the sizzling temperatures
A sign reading "Heat Kills!" is seen during a long-duration heat wave which is impacting much of California
People brave the heat before sunset in Death Valley National Park, California
Extreme heat and a longstanding drought in the West has also dried out vegetation that can fuel wildfires
Over the week, dozens of locations in the West and Pacific Northwest tied or broke previous heat records and are expected to keep doing so as summer rolls on.
The early U.S. heat wave came as the global temperature in June was record warm for the 13th straight month and marked the 12th straight month that the world was 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than pre-industrial times, the European climate service Copernicus said.
English (US)