Heat wave in Japan sends record 30,000 people to hospital in August

More than 30,000 people suffering heat stroke or heat exhaustion were taken to hospitals across Japan in August, topping the previous record for the month in 2010, the government said Thursday.

Of 30,410 people taken to hospitals in the month, 20 died and 485 suffered severe sickness, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The previous record was 28,448.

Temperatures continuously exceeded 35 C in various parts of the country in August, with some cities in central Japan such as Nagoya recording over 40 C for the first time.

The total number of heat stroke and heat exhaustion patients taken to hospitals between May and August was 92,326.

By July, the number had already exceeded the annual record set in 2013.

Kumagaya in Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo saw the mercury soar to its highest-ever level in the country of 41.1 C in July