Japan has raised the severity level of its nuclear crisis to the maximum seven, putting the emergency at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant on a par with Chernobyl.
Officials from the nuclear and industrial safety agency (Nisa) confirmed that the crisis level had been raised from five to seven on the international nuclear and radiological event scale. But they said the new rating reflects the initial impact of the nuclear crisis, adding that radiation levels have since dropped dramatically.
The scale, devised by the International Atomic Energy Agency, ranks nuclear and radiological accidents and incidents by severity from one to seven. Level seven incidents involve a major release of radiation with widespread health and environmental effects, according to the IAEA.