The standard measuring conditions for temperature are in the air, 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above the ground, and shielded from direct sunlight.[2] Global surface temperatures as a whole have been monitored since the 1880s when record keeping began.[3] According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the highest registered air temperature on Earth was 56.7 °C (134.1 °F) in Furnace Creek Ranch, California, located in Death Valley in the United States, on 10 July 1913.[1][4][5] This record was surpassed in 1922 by a reading of 57.8 °C (136.0 °F), registered on 13 September 1922, in ‘Aziziya, Libya. Ninety years later, this record was decertified, making the former reading in Death Valley the World's highest official temperature again. The decertification of the former record in Libya has since cast doubt on the validity of the 1913 recording.[6] If the 1913 record were to be decertified, the highest established recorded air temperature on Earth would be 54.0 °C (129.2 °F), also recorded in Death Valley on 20 June 2013, and in Mitribah, Kuwait on 21 July 2016.[7] There have since been higher readings of 54.4 °C (129.9 °F) in August 2020 and July 2021, both at Furnace Creek, that are pending validation.[8][9][10][11]