One of the worst heat waves on record is causing trouble in Tokyo, Japan. During this time of terrible heat, the concern about a possible shortage in power due to the overuse of air conditioning is rising. This is bad because if power outages happen during the need for air conditioning, then people may not have air conditioning to use.
For the 8th day in a row for Tokyo, on Saturday, the temperature will rose over 95 degrees. Cities like Isesaki in Gunma Prefecture have also experienced sweltering heat during the last few days.
Over 4,500 people have been taken to hospitals to be treated for heat stroke and exhaustion in the past few days. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency of Japan stated that this number quadruples the number of people treated a year ago.
Most of the patients who are being treated are civilians who are over the age of 65. These people are more at risk of the intense heat that the heat wave is sending. A large portion of Japan’s population is made up of Senior citizens.
Authorities are issuing heat alerts throughout the week, requesting that people try to stay indoors as much as they can. The alerts are also recommending people to use umbrellas in an act of warding off the heat and providing shade.
Officials have asked people to start taking off their face masks; this is a huge change because most civilians in Japan are used to constantly wearing their face masks outside during the pandemic.
On Friday, Seiji Kihara, the deputy cabinet secretary, said, “I’d like to ask people to take their masks off when walking, jogging, and cycling to work.”
Multiple power companies have warned that the heat wave might start causing problems with the power grid. As of Saturday, there haven’t been any reports of any outages.
However, Tohoku Electric Power Company, an electric company that powers a total of 6 prefectures in northern Japan, stated that during the week it may be difficult to have their electricity run smoothly for their customers. The company also urged, “please save as much power as possible.”
For the safety of the people, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and more officials are telling civilians to turn on their air conditioning for their safety. However, they’re also suggesting dialing it back on other appliances that would drain power. The governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, said on Friday that “most of the lights in my office are off. It’s dark.”
Ms. Koike is suggesting setting fridges to temperatures that are higher than normal and turning off the heated toilet seats popular in Japan.
However, there is a problem with Japan and its power supply. Japan is exposing itself to more blackouts during periods when the people of Japan need a lot of electricity. This is because the country is relying heavily on liquified natural gas. Liquefied natural gas is hard to store and is becoming pricier since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
After a meltdown in 2011 in Fukushima, many of Japan’s power plants closed. Japan has also been closing coal-based power plants to cut the amount of carbon it produces.
On Friday, Japan’s Ministry of Economy said that the heat wave is expected to start cooling down sometime soon, they also stated that as the heat wave dies down the need for more supply of electricity is also expected to decrease. “The heat is expected to be reduced next week, and the power demands will also be less,” the Ministry said.
People on Twitter are also discovering ways to deal with these hot times. A Tokyo politician named Yoko Koguchi said that the catch-ball practice that her daughter was supposed to go to was canceled due to the sweltering heat. “Thanks to this spare time, we are off to a bookstore and a short trip for something delicious.” She also added, “I heard a parasol was effective so we are using a large one.”
However, other people are taking a different route and are more focused on telling other people about treating themselves carefully. “You can’t manage the heat just with your endurance. No matter how tough a person you are, you could lose your life,” says a researcher at Japan’s Meteorological Agency named Kentaro Araki. “Please take every possible measure to protect your life.”
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/25/world/asia/japan-heat-wave.html
For the 8th day in a row for Tokyo, on Saturday, the temperature will rose over 95 degrees. Cities like Isesaki in Gunma Prefecture have also experienced sweltering heat during the last few days.
Over 4,500 people have been taken to hospitals to be treated for heat stroke and exhaustion in the past few days. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency of Japan stated that this number quadruples the number of people treated a year ago.
Most of the patients who are being treated are civilians who are over the age of 65. These people are more at risk of the intense heat that the heat wave is sending. A large portion of Japan’s population is made up of Senior citizens.
Authorities are issuing heat alerts throughout the week, requesting that people try to stay indoors as much as they can. The alerts are also recommending people to use umbrellas in an act of warding off the heat and providing shade.
Officials have asked people to start taking off their face masks; this is a huge change because most civilians in Japan are used to constantly wearing their face masks outside during the pandemic.
On Friday, Seiji Kihara, the deputy cabinet secretary, said, “I’d like to ask people to take their masks off when walking, jogging, and cycling to work.”
Multiple power companies have warned that the heat wave might start causing problems with the power grid. As of Saturday, there haven’t been any reports of any outages.
However, Tohoku Electric Power Company, an electric company that powers a total of 6 prefectures in northern Japan, stated that during the week it may be difficult to have their electricity run smoothly for their customers. The company also urged, “please save as much power as possible.”
For the safety of the people, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and more officials are telling civilians to turn on their air conditioning for their safety. However, they’re also suggesting dialing it back on other appliances that would drain power. The governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, said on Friday that “most of the lights in my office are off. It’s dark.”
Ms. Koike is suggesting setting fridges to temperatures that are higher than normal and turning off the heated toilet seats popular in Japan.
However, there is a problem with Japan and its power supply. Japan is exposing itself to more blackouts during periods when the people of Japan need a lot of electricity. This is because the country is relying heavily on liquified natural gas. Liquefied natural gas is hard to store and is becoming pricier since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
After a meltdown in 2011 in Fukushima, many of Japan’s power plants closed. Japan has also been closing coal-based power plants to cut the amount of carbon it produces.
On Friday, Japan’s Ministry of Economy said that the heat wave is expected to start cooling down sometime soon, they also stated that as the heat wave dies down the need for more supply of electricity is also expected to decrease. “The heat is expected to be reduced next week, and the power demands will also be less,” the Ministry said.
People on Twitter are also discovering ways to deal with these hot times. A Tokyo politician named Yoko Koguchi said that the catch-ball practice that her daughter was supposed to go to was canceled due to the sweltering heat. “Thanks to this spare time, we are off to a bookstore and a short trip for something delicious.” She also added, “I heard a parasol was effective so we are using a large one.”
However, other people are taking a different route and are more focused on telling other people about treating themselves carefully. “You can’t manage the heat just with your endurance. No matter how tough a person you are, you could lose your life,” says a researcher at Japan’s Meteorological Agency named Kentaro Araki. “Please take every possible measure to protect your life.”
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/25/world/asia/japan-heat-wave.html
