Japan's nationwide average temperature for July hits record high
The Japan Meteorological Agency says the nationwide average temperature for the month was a record 2.89 degrees Celsius higher than usual. It says the country faced "abnormally high" temperatures.
The agency says the average is the highest for July since such data began to be collected in 1898 and broke previous records for the third straight year. Officials say this year's deviation from normal is much larger than past figures.
On Wednesday, a temperature of 41.2 degrees was logged in Hyogo Prefecture's Tamba City, the highest ever observed in the country. On July 24, the mercury rose to nearly 40 degrees in some parts of the northern prefecture of Hokkaido.
The average temperature in July was 6.3 degrees higher than normal in Oumu Town, Hokkaido, 4.8 degrees higher in Aomori City, northern Japan, and 2.7 degrees higher in central Tokyo.
Meanwhile, the country had less rain in July. Precipitation was only 13 percent of the average amount on the Sea of Japan side of the Tohoku region and just 8 percent in the Hokuriku region and Niigata Prefecture. The figures are record lows since such data began to be compiled in 1946.
An agency official said the wide northward meandering of westerly winds is a cause of abnormal high temperatures and less rain. The official also said severe heat and less precipitation are expected to continue in August.
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