The hottest heat wave to ever hit Japan has reached temperatures over 35C in Tokyo, for five days in a row. It has caused many issues, such as power shortages and rising cases of heat stroke.
Since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Japan has discontinued its use of nuclear reactors, leading to much of the energy being imported. Japan’s low natural oil and gas reserves led to heavy dependency on imported energy. The value of the Yen has dropped very severely in the past two decades, so the prices of imported energy have skyrocketed. Air conditioner use has increased due to the heatwave; thus energy consumption has increased as well.
The government has recommended its citizens to reduce power usage as much as possible to cut down on the energy prices. Increased energy consumption threatens power shortages as well, and Energy Official Kaname Ogata advises to, “conserve electricity while using air conditioning appropriately to avoid heat stroke and turn off any unnecessary lights.” (translated)
The heatwaves, over the courses of many decades, have become more frequent, intense, and longer lasting from climate change. In total, the temperature has risen about 1.1C since the industrial era’s beginning (a. 1800). In Isesaki, north-west of Tokyo, temperatures hit 40.2C, the highest recorded temperature ever in June. Many people took to social media to tweet about the heat, and one such user said, “so hot that the fire alarm at our workplace got short-circuited,” with a clip of what appeared to be water sprinklers going off at a plant nursery. Another user says, “it’s too hot outside and just being out … means I’m in a self-sauna.”
June is considered a rainy season in Japan, and the rainy season usually carries over to half of July as well. The extremely high temperatures this year have caused the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) to declare an early end to the season for Tokyo and its surrounding areas on June 20th, 2022.
The heat has had its detrimental effects on the health of the citizens of Japan as well. Nearly 30% of Japan’s population is elderly, and the risk of heatstroke can be life-threatening to elderly.
Even with fans and air conditioning, more than 4,500 people were sent to hospitals for heatstroke and heat exhaustion last week alone. The government advises the increased air conditioning because of this, to prevent overflowing in hospitals.
After Japan reopened its borders, tourists are visiting Kyoto, the former capital of Japan again. Unfortunately, the heat is preventing many tourists from touring the city. Downtown Kyoto seems entirely vacant compared to pre-pandemic numbers. One worker at a machinery company, Minoru Ikuta, says “I was on my way to dinner, but it was too hot. So I stopped in here to buy a fan.” (translated) It’s a manual fan, and one flick makes a perfumed breeze. “I like the fragrance, and you can control the wind speed yourself.” Ikuta also says, “many citizens are against nuclear power plants, but this is an island nation, and it’s hard to get oil and gas. So we may just have to operate nuclear plants in the future.”
Another citizen affected by the heat is Ayano Uno, who complains about her face mask being too hot while leaving an ice cream parlor. “I’ve heard that you don’t have to wear them outside,” she notes. “But lots of people just keep on wearing them, so it’s hard to take it off. And I’m keeping mine on.” (translated)
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-61976937
https://www.npr.org/2022/07/03/1109607646/japan-is-suffering-a-blistering-heatwave-and-energy-crunch
Since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Japan has discontinued its use of nuclear reactors, leading to much of the energy being imported. Japan’s low natural oil and gas reserves led to heavy dependency on imported energy. The value of the Yen has dropped very severely in the past two decades, so the prices of imported energy have skyrocketed. Air conditioner use has increased due to the heatwave; thus energy consumption has increased as well.
The government has recommended its citizens to reduce power usage as much as possible to cut down on the energy prices. Increased energy consumption threatens power shortages as well, and Energy Official Kaname Ogata advises to, “conserve electricity while using air conditioning appropriately to avoid heat stroke and turn off any unnecessary lights.” (translated)
The heatwaves, over the courses of many decades, have become more frequent, intense, and longer lasting from climate change. In total, the temperature has risen about 1.1C since the industrial era’s beginning (a. 1800). In Isesaki, north-west of Tokyo, temperatures hit 40.2C, the highest recorded temperature ever in June. Many people took to social media to tweet about the heat, and one such user said, “so hot that the fire alarm at our workplace got short-circuited,” with a clip of what appeared to be water sprinklers going off at a plant nursery. Another user says, “it’s too hot outside and just being out … means I’m in a self-sauna.”
June is considered a rainy season in Japan, and the rainy season usually carries over to half of July as well. The extremely high temperatures this year have caused the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) to declare an early end to the season for Tokyo and its surrounding areas on June 20th, 2022.
The heat has had its detrimental effects on the health of the citizens of Japan as well. Nearly 30% of Japan’s population is elderly, and the risk of heatstroke can be life-threatening to elderly.
Even with fans and air conditioning, more than 4,500 people were sent to hospitals for heatstroke and heat exhaustion last week alone. The government advises the increased air conditioning because of this, to prevent overflowing in hospitals.
After Japan reopened its borders, tourists are visiting Kyoto, the former capital of Japan again. Unfortunately, the heat is preventing many tourists from touring the city. Downtown Kyoto seems entirely vacant compared to pre-pandemic numbers. One worker at a machinery company, Minoru Ikuta, says “I was on my way to dinner, but it was too hot. So I stopped in here to buy a fan.” (translated) It’s a manual fan, and one flick makes a perfumed breeze. “I like the fragrance, and you can control the wind speed yourself.” Ikuta also says, “many citizens are against nuclear power plants, but this is an island nation, and it’s hard to get oil and gas. So we may just have to operate nuclear plants in the future.”
Another citizen affected by the heat is Ayano Uno, who complains about her face mask being too hot while leaving an ice cream parlor. “I’ve heard that you don’t have to wear them outside,” she notes. “But lots of people just keep on wearing them, so it’s hard to take it off. And I’m keeping mine on.” (translated)
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-61976937
https://www.npr.org/2022/07/03/1109607646/japan-is-suffering-a-blistering-heatwave-and-energy-crunch