Temperatures in North Asia and Europe hit record highs in July. And the heatwaves are set to persist this month.

Temperatures in Spain and Portugal exceed 40 degrees Celsius. Even normally-cool Scandinavia is seeing temperatures of over 30 degrees. While authorities in Italy issued its highest alert for heat for 18 cities on Thursday. Moving to Asia, in Japan, 96 people in Tokyo died from heatstroke last month, a four-fold increase from last year. In northern China, Beijing and other areas are also feeling the burn. And in South Korea, 29 people have died, and over two-thousand others hospitalized, as temperatures in Seoul reached their highest since 1907. CGTN's Jack Barton in Seoul has more.

JACK BARTON SEOUL "39.6 degrees Celsius, or about 103 degrees Fahrenheit, was the temperature reached here in Seoul on Wednesday, which according to the Meteorological Agency was the highest since records began being kept back in 1907. But it wasn't the highest in the country, that peak went to Hongcheon, about 100 kilometres south of Seoul, where a new record of 41 degrees Celsius was reached. And while Thursday might not have been quite as hot as Wednesday, in Seoul the night time temperature soared about 30 degrees setting yet another all-time record high. The temperature is already 4 to 7 degrees Celsius higher than the last year's average summer temperature.

Dozens of heat related deaths have been reported since temperatures began to soar in May and thousands of people have been taken to hospital suffering from heatstroke, with shoppers now largely shunning outdoor markets to head to pricier air-conditioned chains. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has ordered an inquiry into potentially lowering electricity prices for the socially disadvantaged, with the government declaring the weather a 'special disaster' situation. The heat wave has already affected agricultural output, leading to farm produce price hikes of 4.2 percent. The meteorological agency says the heat will last for a while due to a high atmospheric pressure around the country. August is traditionally the hottest month of the year in South Korea so the hope here is that the recent record won't be broken again in the coming weeks. Jack Barton, CGTN, Seoul."