Tokyo, Sep 2 (IANS): Japan witnessed its joint hottest summer this year since records began, tying the previous record logged in 2023, the weather agency said on Monday.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the national average temperature between June and August was 1.76 degrees Celsius higher than the standard value, the joint highest since records began in 1898 and making it the hottest summer in two consecutive years.

The average temperature is calculated from observation results at 15 locations selected to avoid regional bias and to be less susceptible to environmental changes due to urbanisation, Xinhua news agency reported.

The benchmark is the overall monthly average recorded between 1991 and 2020.

Japan just experienced its hottest July on record, toppling a previous record average for the month that was set only last year, with the variation across the archipelago 2.16 degrees Celsius higher than usual, the JMA said.

In central Tokyo alone, 123 mostly elderly people died of heatstroke in July, with the total number of emergency ambulance dispatches in the capital coming to 91,614, the highest monthly number ever, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Medical Examiner's Office.

With the heat expected to continue in September, weather officials urged measures to prevent heatstroke, such as using air conditioning and staying hydrated.