Notes

Heat records falling across Asia. Last week, wee looked at the heat searing Türkiye. This week, it’s Asia. In Japan, the national temperature record fell on Wednesday, as the city of Tamba in western Honshu reached 41.2 degrees Celsius breaking the previous record from 2020 by 0.1 degrees. On the same day, local temperature records broke in 39 locations—including in Kyoto, which reached 40 degrees for the first time—with almost a third of the Japan Meteorological Agency’s weather stations reporting highs above 35 degrees.

In South Korea, Seoul had a record-breaking 22 consecutive “tropical nights”, a term used by the Korea Meteorological Administration when overnight temperatures fail to fall below 25 degrees. On Thursday, the minimum overnight temperature in the capital was 29.3.

Vietnam also roasted, with the capital Hanoi experiencing its first-ever August day above 40 degrees Celsius on Monday. That beat the city’s previous August record of 39.8 degrees set in 2021.

Long-term forecast models suggest temperatures will trend above average throughout the latter part of August and into September—and may still set new records before autumn.

—Brendan Hasenstab