Japan, S Korea endure hottest summer on record

TOKYO

Japan and South Korea sweltered this year through the hottest summers since records began, their weather agencies said 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 2.36C above the standard value, which marked the hottest summer since records began in 1898," according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

During that same period in South Korea, the average temperature was 25.7C, "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 25.6C, set just last year.

In Japan the scorching heat left some 84,521 people hospitalized nationwide from May 1 to Aug. 24 this year, up slightly from 83,414 during the same period last year, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

Japan's beloved cherry trees are blooming earlier due to the warmer climate, or sometimes not fully blossoming because autumns and winters are not cold enough to trigger flowering, experts say.

The famous snowcap of Mount Fuji was absent for the longest recorded period last year, not appearing until early November, compared with the average of early October.