Japan reveals new name for 40C-and-hotter days after blistering summer

Japan has unveiled a new name for days that reach 40C (104F) or above, after the country experienced its hottest summer on record last year.The term - kokushobi - has been translated as "cruelly hot", "brutally hot" or "severely hot" day by Japanese and international media.The name emerged as the most popular in a national online survey, with "super extremely hot day" in second place.Extreme weather events like heatwaves are becoming more common and more intense around the world, fuelled by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels.The description, introduced by Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) on Friday, uses koku - meaning harsh or cruel - to describe the heat, the Japan-times" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="84046" data-entity-type="organization">Japan Times newspaper reported.The survey was conducted in February and March and received roughly 478,000 responses, in which people picked their preferred term among 13 options to describe the hottest day.Japan already has terms for days over 25C, 30C and 35C.