South Korea recorded its highest temperature since records began in 1904, with the thermometer reaching 42.5 degrees Celsius in the city of Yangsan in the southeastern part of the country, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) announced.
The temperature in Yangsan, which lies near the port of Busan, hit 42.5C at 13:26 local time, according to the agency's website. It was the fifth consecutive day on which temperatures in Yangsan exceeded 40C.
The record comes as heat wave warnings have been issued for most of the country's more than 51 million residents. Many cities are recording temperatures around 30C, and more than twenty regions have been placed on the highest level of heat warning.
According to the KMA, the average annual number of heat wave days in the country rose from eight in the 1970s to nineteen over the past five years. A heat wave day is defined as one on which the maximum temperature reaches at least 33C.
