What place holds the record for the highest recorded temperature?

It's hard to believe that a temperature extreme may be disqualified decades after the recording, but it is really possible. El Azizia in Libya used to hold the record for the highest recorded air temperature for 90 years! Unfortunately, this extreme was rejected after an investigation by WMO on the 13th of September, 2012 for several reasons. One of them, for example, was that the temperature was measured by an inexperienced observer, who could have made a mistake.

So, today's record for the highest temperature is held by Furnace Creek Ranch, Death Valley, CA, USA (formerly Greenland Ranch). The temperature of 56.7C (134F) was measured there on the 10th of July, 1913. Such a temperature rise may have been caused by a sandstorm that occurred at the time.