TOKYO: The mercury rose to 40.2 degrees Celsius in Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, on Saturday, topping 40 degrees for the first time on record in Japan in June, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Saturday.

The record temperature was observed at 2:56 p.m. (5:56 a.m. GMT) as many other locations in Gunma and neighboring prefectures posted temperatures above 35 degrees due to fine weather.

The previous June record was 39.8 degrees observed in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, which borders Gunma, in 2011.

The highest temperature in the country for any month was 41.1 degrees observed in Kumagaya in July 2018 and Hamamatsu in the central prefecture of Shizuoka in August 2020.

On Saturday, central Tokyo saw the mercury rise to 35.4 degrees before noon, topping 35 degrees for the first time this year.

Temperatures reached 39.8 degrees in Kiryu, Gunma, 39.6 degrees in Sano in neighboring Tochigi Prefecture, 39.5 degrees in Maebashi, Gunma, and 39.2 degrees in Hatoyama, Saitama.

JIJI Press