On July 2, Tokyo’s temperature exceeded 95 degrees Fahrenheit for
the eighth straight day, making it the worst documented heat streak
since the record started in 1875.
The extreme heat wave has drawn officials to make warnings about
power shortages and urge citizens to save electricity wherever
possible.
However, the government still encourages people to use air
conditioning to avoid heat stroke and exhaustion as the number of
hospitalizations increases. Over 4,500 people with such symptoms
have been hospitalized recently, more than four times the number
from the same period a year ago, according to Japan’s Fire and
Disaster Management Agency.
Most of the patients are elderlies who are relatively more vulnerable
to the heat waves.
Officials have been issuing daily heat alerts, urging people to
stay indoors as much as possible and use protections such as
umbrellas against the sun. The government has also suggested
people take off their face masks, which most of the citizens have
used voluntarily.
“I’d like to ask people to take their masks off when walking, jogging
and cycling to work,” Seiji Kihara, the deputy cabinet secretary, said
on Friday.
June is usually considered the rainy season for Japan, but the Japan
Meteorological Agency (JMA) declared an end to the season for
Tokyo and its surrounding areas on Monday, June 27. This
announcement was published 22 days earlier than normal, marking
the earliest end to the rainy season since 1951.
Power companies such as Tohoku Electric Power Company had
warned that the heat would put the grid under strain, and the power
supply would be “extremely difficult because high temperatures are
expected to cause high cooling operations.”
The company has also urged people to “continue to ‘turn off the
lights in unused rooms and corridors’ and ‘put food in the
refrigerator.’”
“Please save as much power as possible within a reasonable range,”
the company said.
Japan’s Ministry of Economy said on Friday that the heat wave will
likely be mitigated soon. “The heat is expected to be reduced next
week, and the power demand will also be less,” it said in a
statement.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/25/world/asia/japan-heatwave.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-61976937
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61947315
the eighth straight day, making it the worst documented heat streak
since the record started in 1875.
The extreme heat wave has drawn officials to make warnings about
power shortages and urge citizens to save electricity wherever
possible.
However, the government still encourages people to use air
conditioning to avoid heat stroke and exhaustion as the number of
hospitalizations increases. Over 4,500 people with such symptoms
have been hospitalized recently, more than four times the number
from the same period a year ago, according to Japan’s Fire and
Disaster Management Agency.
Most of the patients are elderlies who are relatively more vulnerable
to the heat waves.
Officials have been issuing daily heat alerts, urging people to
stay indoors as much as possible and use protections such as
umbrellas against the sun. The government has also suggested
people take off their face masks, which most of the citizens have
used voluntarily.
“I’d like to ask people to take their masks off when walking, jogging
and cycling to work,” Seiji Kihara, the deputy cabinet secretary, said
on Friday.
June is usually considered the rainy season for Japan, but the Japan
Meteorological Agency (JMA) declared an end to the season for
Tokyo and its surrounding areas on Monday, June 27. This
announcement was published 22 days earlier than normal, marking
the earliest end to the rainy season since 1951.
Power companies such as Tohoku Electric Power Company had
warned that the heat would put the grid under strain, and the power
supply would be “extremely difficult because high temperatures are
expected to cause high cooling operations.”
The company has also urged people to “continue to ‘turn off the
lights in unused rooms and corridors’ and ‘put food in the
refrigerator.’”
“Please save as much power as possible within a reasonable range,”
the company said.
Japan’s Ministry of Economy said on Friday that the heat wave will
likely be mitigated soon. “The heat is expected to be reduced next
week, and the power demand will also be less,” it said in a
statement.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/25/world/asia/japan-heatwave.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-61976937
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61947315
