The hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth could be set this weekend at California’s Death Valley National Park.

Tourists have been flocking to the desert landscape, where a thermometer outside the aptly named Furnace Creek Visitor Center has hit 48.8C this week.

And the already extreme temperatures are forecast to climb even higher, potentially setting a new world record.

Climate scientist Daniel Swain tweeted: ‘There’s a decent chance that Death Valley will see a high temperature this weekend between 130 and 132F [55.5C], which (if it occurs) would either tie or break record for the hottest temperature reliably measured on Earth.’

But that figure has been disputed by experts, with one weather historian who has worked on the World Meteorological Organization’s decertification team calling it ‘100% bogus’.

The park bills itself as the lowest, hottest and driest place on Earth.

The bone-dry air and meagre plant coverage allows sunlight to heat up the desert surface. The rocks and the soil emit all that heat in turn, which then becomes trapped in the depths of the valley.

Its brownish hills feature signs warning ‘heat kills’ and other messaging, such as a Stovepipe Wells sign warning travellers of the ‘Savage Summer Sun’.

More than a million people visit every year, with a fifth of those coming in the summer months.

They are drawn by awe-inspiring sites such as Badwater Basin, made up of salt flats, which is considered the lowest point in all of North America.

The eye-opening 600-foot Ubehebe Crater dates back over 2,000 years. And Zabriskie Point is a prime sunrise viewing spot.

Eugen Chen, visiting from Taiwan, called the park ‘beautiful’ and an ‘iconic … very special place’.

Josh Miller, a visitor from Indianapolis who has been to 20 national parks so far, shared that sentiment.

‘It’s hot, but the scenery is awesome,’ he said

Other parks have long-standing warnings for hikers.

At Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, officials are cautioning people to stay off the trails for most of the day in the inner canyon, where temperatures can be 20 degrees hotter than the rim.

In west Texas, Big Bend National Park near the Rio Grande is expected to be at least 43.3 C. The National Weather Service has said it’s best to just stay off the trails in the afternoon.

The precautions vary across parks and landscapes, said Cynthia Hernandez, a National Park Service spokesperson.

Certain trails might be closed if conditions are too dangerous. Alerts and restrictions are posted on websites for individual parks, she said.

Preliminary information form the park service shows at least four people have died this year from heat-related causes across the 424 national park sites.

That includes a 65-year-old man from San Diego who was found dead in his vehicle at Death Valley earlier this month, according to a news release.

Death Valley National Park emphasizes self-reliance over expectations of rescue.

While rangers patrol park roads and can assist motorists in distress, there’s no guarantee lost tourists will get aid in time.

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