The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued extreme heat warnings for 26 of the total 47 prefectures.
On Sunday, temperatures in central Japan reached 40 degrees for the first time this year, approaching the Japanese record of 41.1 degrees Celsius from 2018 and 2020. The southern prefecture of Wakayama was only four-tenths of a degree away from the same mark today, public broadcaster NHK reported. In the other three prefectures, they measured over 37 degrees today. In connection with the heat in Japan in the past few days, they have recorded at least four deaths.
Japanese authorities define “extreme heat” as a condition where the temperature reaches at least 35 degrees. More than 240 places in the country met this condition on Sunday. They measured forty degrees in the city of Shizuoka in the prefecture of the same name shortly after 1:00 p.m. local time. According to NHK, it was the highest temperature recorded in the prefecture since measurements began in 1940.
In the Japanese metropolis of Tokyo, 86 people between the ages of 15 and 93 ended up in hospitals today alone due to extreme weather. Temperatures in the city reached 35 degrees at midday, NHK reported. On Sunday, nearly 200 people were hospitalized in Tokyo due to the heat, the youngest aged three and the oldest aged 98.
At least four people, all aged 70 and over, did not survive the extreme heat in the past few days. A 70-year-old man was found dead in the garden by passers-by, an 80-year-old man apparently died while working on a farm. On Sunday, Japanese media also reported the death of two women aged 90 and 83.
Japan experienced its hottest summer so far last year. The Japanese authorities therefore expect summer temperatures to be above average this year as well. Hot and humid summers are not uncommon in Japan, especially after the end of the monsoon season around mid-July. However, experts warn that as a result of climate change, the heat may be longer and more intense.
The number of deaths from heatstroke has increased sixfold in Japan since 1995, according to statistics from the Ministry of Health. While between 1995 and 1999 heatstroke claimed an average of 201 lives per year, in the period from 2018 to 2022 there were 1,295 victims, of which up to 90 percent were people over 65.
The Japanese temperature record of 41.1 degrees Celsius is held by the cities of Hamamatsu in the center of the country and Kumagaja to the northwest of Tokyo. In Hamamac, the authorities measured this temperature on August 17, 2020, in Kumagaje on July 23, 2018.
Source: zpravy.tiscali.cz
