Tokyo – Six individuals have succumbed to heatstroke in Tokyo as Japan experiences an uncommon heatwave during its rainy season, leading authorities to issue numerous health warnings.
Over the weekend, the central Shizuoka region experienced its first 40 degrees Celsius temperature this year, significantly exceeding the 35-degree mark that weather officials classify as “extremely hot.”
This severe heat during Japan’s rainy season is “quite rare,” attributed partly to a strong South Pacific high-pressure system, a weather agency official told AFP.
On Monday (Jul 8), temperatures reached near 40 degrees Celsius at observation posts in Tokyo and the southern Wakayama region, according to local media reports.
Authorities have issued heatstroke alerts across much of the country in recent days, advising residents to avoid outdoor exercise and use air conditioning.
“It’s a life-threatening emergency,” said 60-year-old Hisako Ichiuji, who sought refuge on Tuesday in a “cooling shelter” at Tokyo Tower, a popular tourist destination.
Cooling shelters, typically community centers or libraries with air conditioners, are part of a new scheme requiring local governments to offer relief from the heat after warnings are issued.
“In the past, the temperature wasn’t like this,” Ichiuji added. “It’s important to stay hydrated and take shelter in such facilities.”
Tokyo recorded three heatstroke-related deaths on Saturday and three more on Monday, when temperatures hovered around 35 degrees Celsius at midday, according to the city’s medical examination office.
“Without the AC on, I find it difficult to survive,” said 75-year-old Tokyo resident Sumiko Yamamoto. She noted that “it’s gotten drastically hotter” since last year.
“Following advice on TV, I try to stay as hydrated as possible. Because of my age, I am cautious to avoid collapsing,” she said.
Heatstroke is especially deadly in Japan, which has the second-oldest population in the world after Monaco.
Yamamoto’s age group, along with infants and those living alone or unable to afford air conditioning, is identified by health experts as particularly vulnerable to heatstroke.
On Monday, the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine warned of the increasing death toll from heat exhaustion nationwide, rising from a few hundred per year two decades ago to around 1,500 in 2022.
The number of fatalities now suggests that heatstroke poses a danger comparable to “a major natural disaster,” the group stated, advising against non-essential outings.
An 86-year-old farm worker was found dead on Monday in a field in the southwestern Fukuoka region, surrounded by towels and bottles of water, according to the Asahi newspaper.
