Japan¡¯s average temperature in July hit a record high for the third consecutive year, the Meteorological Agency has said.

This July¡¯s average temperature was 2.89 degrees Celsius higher than the 30-year average for the month, the agency said Friday, with the positive deviation the largest since records began in 1898.

As the average temperature in June also hit a new record this year, the average summer temperature from June to August is ¡°likely to rewrite the record, too,¡± said Yoshinori Oikawa, head of the agency¡¯s Center for Information on Climate Extremes.

Last year, the country experienced the hottest summer for the second straight year.

Meanwhile, the amount of rainfall in July was 13% lower than average along the Tohoku region¡¯s Sea of Japan coast and 8% lower along that of the Hokuriku region. Both areas saw record-low rainfall.