TOKYO – Japan experienced its hottest July for the third year in a row, with a record 2.89 degrees Celsius higher than usual, according to the country's weather agency.

The nationwide average temperature was the highest for July since comparable records began in 1898, toppling the previous record set in 2024 by 2.16 degrees Celsius, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said on Friday.

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Weather officials said this year's deviation from normal is much larger than past figures, adding that the country faced "abnormally high" temperatures.

On July 30, a temperature of 41.2 degrees was recorded in Tamba City in the western prefecture of Hyogo, the highest ever observed in the country.

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On July 24, the mercury rose to nearly 40 degrees in some parts of the northern prefecture of Hokkaido.

Meanwhile, rainfall in July on the Sea of Japan side of the northeastern Tohoku region and in the central Hokuriku region was the lowest since those statistics started being recorded in 1946, the JMA said.