Japan and South Korea endure hottest summers on record as climate shifts
The prolonged heat is disrupting Japan’s natural cycles, causing cherry trees to bloom earlier and Mount Fuji’s snowcap to appear later
Japan and South Korea sweltered this year through the hottest summers since records began, their weather agencies said on Monday.
Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as climate change creates ever more erratic weather patterns.
Japan’s average temperature between June and August “was 2.36 degrees Celsius above the standard value, which marked the hottest summer since records began in 1898”, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The agency did not disclose what the new mark was, but said it was the third consecutive summer of record-high temperatures.
During that same period in South Korea, the average temperature was 25.7 degrees (78.6 degrees Fahrenheit), “the highest since data collection began in 1973”, the Korea Meteorological Administration said in a press release.
The previous record over the same period was 25.6 degrees, set just last year.