Japan had hottest June on record, says weather agency

TOKYO - Japan experienced its hottest June on record, the weather agency said on July 1, as climate change prompts sweltering heatwaves across the globe.

“Japan’s monthly average temperature in June was the highest for the month since statistics began in 1898,” said the Japan Meteorological Agency.

With strong high-pressure systems in June staying in the region, the monthly average temperature ended 2.34 deg C higher than usual, the agency said.

The temperature of coastal waters near Japan also measured 1.2 deg C higher than usual, tying with June 2024 for the highest since data collection began in 1982, it added.

The agency also had a warning that is becoming routine for Japanese residents: “The next month is expected to continue to bring severe heat throughout the country.”

The announcement came as scientists say human-induced climate change is making heatwave events more intense, frequent and widespread.

Brutal heatwaves are sweeping Europe

from France to Greece, with the global footballers’ union FIFPro calling for longer half-time breaks at the 2026 World Cup to mitigate the effects of extreme heat.

Japanese meteorologists have warned against drawing a direct link between specific weather conditions, like higher temperatures at a specific time, and climate change.

But they have observed a changing climate over many years that is causing unpredictable weather phenomena.

Japan’s summer in 2024 was the joint hottest on record, equalling the level seen in 2023, followed by the warmest autumn since records began 126 years ago.

Experts even warn that Japan’s beloved cherry trees are blooming earlier due to the warmer climate or sometimes even not fully blossoming because autumns and winters are not cold enough to trigger flowering.

The famous snowcap of Mount Fuji was also absent for the longest recorded period

in 2024, not appearing until early November, compared with the average of early October.

Last week, the rainy season ended in the western region of Japan, the earliest date on record and around three weeks earlier than usual.

Raging typhoons in summers routinely cause violent floods in Japan while brutal heatwaves result in deadly heatstrokes among the elderly.

Increasingly dry winters have raised the risk of wildfires, with a northern area of Ofunato earlier in 2025 seeing the nation’s biggest forest fire in three decades.

At the same time, other areas have seen record snowfalls that resulted in fatal accidents, traffic disruption, and higher avalanche risk. AFP