Just weeks after floods that killed 200, Japan is facing another threatening natural phenomenon: a heat wave reaching record temperatures nationwide, already reportedly killing at least 70 people.
The big picture: Because of the lack of an El Niño event in the Pacific (which boosts temperatures), 2018 wasn't expected to be a record-shattering hot year, but it's shaping up to be a top five warmest year on record globally. The 106 °F reading, which topped the previous all-time high of 105.8°F in 2013, occurred in Kumagaya, a town 40 miles north of Tokyo.
