A blazing heatwave is gripping southwestern parts of the USA this weekend.

Health officials are warning people to take care in the heat. As well as dehydration and heat stroke, there is also the risk of burns from concrete and asphalt.

Temperatures in both Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada, are expected to have reached 48C by the time the weekend is over.

Despite the hot weather, it’s not expected that the temperatures will top 57.6C in Death Valley. This is the world’s highest temperature officially recognized by the World Meteorological Organisation, recorded in Death Valley, California, USA on 10 July 1913.

The previous record of 58C, which El Azizia, Libya, held for decades, was discounted in 2012, after a team of experts determined that there were enough questions surrounding the measurement to suggest that this temperature was probably not accurately recorded.

Source: Al Jazeera