Record high in Japan as the heat wave captures the region

TOKYO – Japan recorded its highest temperature on Monday, as a deadly heat wave continued to hit a wide swath of the country and neighboring South and North Korea.

Mercury reached 41.1 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) in Kumagaya, a town in Saitama prefecture located about 65 kilometers northwest of Tokyo, said the Japanese Meteorological Agency. This broke the previous record of 41.0 C at Ekawasaki on Shikoku Island on August 12, 2013.

Two persistent high pressure systems trapped warm, moist air overhead. the region, bringing record temperatures for nearly two weeks. More than 40 people died in Japan and about 10 in South Korea.

"It's so hot today that I do not know if I'm in South Korea or Southeast Asia," said Kim Sung-hee, a student in downtown Seoul, where the temperature reached 35.7 C (96 F).

Ten people died in South Korea from heat stroke and other heat-related causes this summer, seven of which last week. Control and Prevention said Monday. About 1,040 people became ill because of the heat from May 20 to July 21, an increase of 61% over the same period last year.

The highest trough in South Korea was recorded in the city of Gangneung, where the temperature was 31 C (88 F) at 6:45 am The morning in Seoul was 29.2 C, a record for the capital of the country, according to the South Korean Meteorological Agency.

Mercury hit 39.9 C (103.8 F) In the city of Hayang, southeast, the country's highest temperature so far this year.

In North Korea, locals settled on crowded carts or protected themselves from the sun with brightly colored umbrellas. C. Meteorological bulletins have indicated that even higher temperatures have been recorded on the east coast of the country.

Thousands of people in Japan were rushed to hospitals with heat stroke symptoms during the heat wave. The agency Kyodo News has registered more than 40 deaths. Many of the victims were elderly people who did not use air conditioning.

The temperature reached Monday 39 C (102 F) in central Tokyo, the highest temperature this year. The worst of the heat wave is expected this week.

Tourists in the historic district of Asakusa in Tokyo fought with the heat. Cosett Romero of Mexico said that she and her family had headaches.

"It's hard for us because we do not have that warmth in Mexico," she said.

Authorities warned people to stay inside.

"The time that he is doing recently in Japan looks like a sauna," said Yuriko Koike, governor of Tokyo, during a press conference that highlighted the Olympic Games in Japan. summer of 2020 in Tokyo two years earlier. The city has worked to solve the heat problems for fans and athletes.

The marathon and other outdoor Olympic events will start early in the morning. Other measures include the development of sidewalks that emit less surface heat, the installation of foggers and the planting of large trees along the road.

Koike also cites traditional methods of cooling in Japan, such as hanging benches and spraying water on the roads. "But our traditional wisdom is not enough to beat the heat," she acknowledged, "so we'll use advanced technology."

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Kim brought back from Seoul, South Korea. Associated Press writer Eric Talmadge in Pyongyang, North Korea, and video journalists Nicola Shannon in Tokyo and Yong-ho Kim in Seoul contributed to this report.