China and Japan experienced their hottest July on record, weather authorities said on Friday.

In July, "the average air temperature reached 23.21 degrees Celsius, surpassing July 2017 (23.17 degrees Celsius), becoming the hottest July since full observations began in 1961," Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Authorities expect hotter days in some regions and said "subtropical high pressure will take over" during August.

Meanwhile, the Japan Meteorological Agency said the country had its hottest July since records began in 1898.

This marked the second year in a row that Japan has broken its average July temperature record.

The country is facing a heat wave with the average temperature in July recorded 2.16 degrees Celsius higher than the overall monthly average recorded between 1991 and 2020. /AA