Kuwait officially entered the list of the world's highest standard temperatures, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) experts said on Wednesday.

Head of the Meteorology Department at the Kuwait Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Dr. Hassan Dashti told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the WMO commission of experts adopted, at a meeting earlier today, an official decision that the highest temperature recorded was at Mitribah, northeastern Kuwait, that reached 53.9 degrees Celsius on July 21, 2016.

According to Dr. Dashti, this temperature was affirmed, according to the report by the said commission, which groups 18 iternational experts including ones from Kuwait.

Dashti said the locally recorded heat has been ever recorded for Asia, and 3rd warmest temperature on record globally after the Desert Valley of eastern California, which was ranked first in the highest temperature record of 56.7 degrees in 1913, while the Tunisian governorate of Kebili classified second with 55 degrees Celsius in 1931.

Task of the committee is not limited to standard temperatures. It also examines various weather and climate phenomena.

Dr. Dashti commended Kuwait's determination and unprecedented methodology to provide the committee with data and facts that will help make decisions linked to dealing with extreme weather.