Japan sees hottest July since records began

Tokyo – Japan sweltered through its hottest July since records began 126 years ago, its weather agency said, as extreme heatwaves fuelled by climate change engulfed many parts of the globe.

Temperatures in the country were 2.16 deg C higher than average, breaking 2023’s record for July of 1.91 deg C above average.

“It was the highest since statistics began in 1898,” the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said on Aug 1, noting that the figures were “considerably higher” nationwide.

Of 153 observation posts across Japan, 62 broke their average temperature record in July.

Contributing factors included a high-pressure system over the Pacific and “warm air from the south” that shrouded northern parts of the archipelago, the JMA said.

Since April, heatstroke has killed 59 people in Japan, according to the country’s disaster management agency.

Parasols and chunky necklaces that can be stored in the freezer have been a common sight around Tokyo, where street performer Jiro Kan, 56, told AFP he was feeling the heat.

“After spending two hours standing here, I get so sweaty that I can literally squeeze it all out from my shirt. I’m drenched,” he said, dressed in an all-yellow suit.

“People who are used to a more dry type of heat, like in the United States, find the heat and humidity in Japan more difficult to handle,” he said in tourist hot spot Asakusa.

In July, Shizuoka, west of Tokyo, became the first Japanese region to see the mercury reach 40 deg C in 2024 – far surpassing the 35-degree threshold deemed “extremely hot” by the authorities.

Heatwaves are becoming increasingly common across the globe, with the European Union’s climate monitor saying in July that

the earth experienced its warmest day in recorded history on July 22

. AFP