Overview

• Japan’s Meteorological Agency confirmed a new all-time high of 41.8°C in Isesaki on August 5, capping July as the hottest month since records began in 1898.
• South Korea endured its second-hottest July on record at 27.1°C average and logged 22 consecutive tropical nights, the Korea Meteorological Administration reported.
• More than 53,000 people have been hospitalized for heatstroke in Japan this summer, triggering alerts in 44 of 47 prefectures and the opening of emergency cooling centres.
• July’s record low rainfall along the Sea of Japan coast has left key rice-growing prefectures critically dry, fueling pest outbreaks and threatening harvests.
• Farm Minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced emergency pest control, drought relief measures and a new rice production policy to protect staple supplies.