1.
scorching heat; blazing heat; intense summer heat
Extremely hot weather, particularly the intense heat of midsummer. A literary and emphatic term that evokes the feeling of being scorched by the sun.
炎暑が続く。
The scorching heat continues.
炎暑の中、外で働くのは大変だ。
Working outside in the blazing heat is tough.
今年の夏は炎暑が厳しく、外出を控える人が多かった。
This summer the heat was so intense that many people refrained from going out.
The kanji 炎 (flame) + 暑 (heat) vividly conveys flame-like, scorching heat. More literary and expressive than everyday words for hot weather.
SIMILAR WORDS (HEAT INTENSITY SCALE):
- 暑さ — heat, hotness (neutral, everyday)
- 猛暑 — intense heat (strong; used in weather reports)
- 酷暑 — extreme heat, brutal heat (stronger still)
- 炎暑 — scorching, blazing heat (literary/emphatic)
- 灼熱 — searing heat (the strongest; also used for deserts and furnaces)
USAGE:
Appears in literary writing, essays, and formal weather commentary more than in casual speech.