(Image source from: Asia sizzles as mercury soars!})

As record-setting heat wave and sweltering temperature throws the whole of Northern Asia out of gear, concerns over farm, land, man, water and electricity soars.

Although met experts  blame the high-pressure system that has settled over the region for the sizzling heat, increased urbanization and growing global warming are equally responsible for the 100 degrees soar.

In Japan, hot weather killedf our people over the weekend, as temperatures touched a record 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in Kofu and Tokyo. Shimanto city in southwest Japan's Kochi prefecture hit 41 degrees Monday, the highest temperature ever recorded in the country.

"It's like we're in a sauna," said Kyoko Nagata, who works for the Shimanto city office, adding that many city residents were cooling off in rivers and at the beach. The heat wave coincided with the start of Japan's traditional o-bon summer holidays, when many businesses shut for the week.

Meanwhile, China is facing its worst heat wave in the last 140 years, as more than 40 cities and counties, particularly in the south and east, are experiencing 40 degrees Celsius.

AW: Suchorita Dutta