Extreme weather continues to affect North Asia

Widespread rains are expected to continue across the Greater China region and South Korea, while Japan is experiencing record-high temperatures.

Extreme weather conditions are impacting North Asia, as forecasted by local observatories.

Hong Kong is experiencing unsettled weather due to an active southwest monsoon and the upper-air disturbance. The Hong Kong Observatory has forecasted heavy showers, squally thunderstorms, and occasionally strong winds in the city over the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, Mainland China has renewed an orange alert for rainstorms, warning that heavy rainfall will impact vast regions across the country. Places in Hebei, Guangxi, Guangdong, and the eastern coastal provinces could receive up to 350mm of rain. Some areas may experience intense short-term downpours, reaching 80mm per hour, accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds.

In Taiwan, continuous downpours in the southern region have reportedly resulted in four fatalities, 74 injuries, and three individuals reported missing. Media reports indicated that over 3,100 people in Kaohsiung City and more than 800 individuals in the Pingtung County Mountain Area have been evacuated.

In South Korea, the southern provinces have experienced heavier-than-expected rainfall. More than 2,500 people have reportedly sought refuge across six major cities and provinces: Busan, Gwangju, South Chungcheong, South Jeolla, North Gyeongsan, and South Gyeongsang. A rain band is expected to sweep across most of South Korea from north to south, potentially causing more heavy rainfall in the coming days.

On the contrary, Japan is experiencing extremely high temperatures, with readings of 35°C or more reported at over one-third of the country's observation points. According to NHK World News, some locations have even exceeded 40°C, such as Tamba City in Hyogo Prefecture (41.2°C) and Komatsu City in Ishikawa Prefecture (40.3°C).

The Japan Meteorological Agency has stated that a high-pressure system is dominating the region, resulting in widespread extreme heat. As of today (4 Aug), 17 heat records have been broken across the country, following its hottest June and July on record. Heatstroke alerts have been issued in 32 prefectures.