Japan is suffering from its worst heat wave ever recorded with over 95-degree Fahrenheit days. 5,000 people have been hospitalized with heat stroke and exhaustion, most of those being senior citizens over the age of 65.
37 million people in Tokyo have been told to minimize their use of electricity for three months to avoid blackouts. They are also advised to turn off their heated toilet seats and to watch TV together instead of on multiple different devices.
Authorities asked people to stay indoors and use sunscreen and umbrellas to protect them from the sun’s strong UV radiation. Masks are advised to be taken off when going outside in case it gets hard to breathe in the heat. However, it creates a risk for viruses to spread around easily, especially in the pandemic.
The average temperature in Japan is 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) and the highest temperature is 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the city of Isesaki.
So far, no outages have happened since Sunday. Japan depends greatly on fossil fuels (non-renewable energy), renewable energy contributing only 18% of Japan’s supply of electricity.
The Japanese yen, Japan’s currency, has “slid to a 24-year low against the dollar,” says the Fortune-Features Magazine, meaning that the cost of oil has increased 70% for Japan.
The Ukraine war also has caused energy prices to rise higher and higher. To minimize the cost, Japan launched an awards system to encourage people to save energy and conserve power. The system is based on points worth 2,000 yen (14.70 USD) that residents earn if they participate in a power-saving program.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/25/world/asia/japan-heat-wave.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/06/29/japan-heat-wave-record-weather-tokyo
https://fortune.com/2022/07/05/japan-heatwave-energy-saving-power-blackout-crisis-air-conditioning-toilet-seats
37 million people in Tokyo have been told to minimize their use of electricity for three months to avoid blackouts. They are also advised to turn off their heated toilet seats and to watch TV together instead of on multiple different devices.
Authorities asked people to stay indoors and use sunscreen and umbrellas to protect them from the sun’s strong UV radiation. Masks are advised to be taken off when going outside in case it gets hard to breathe in the heat. However, it creates a risk for viruses to spread around easily, especially in the pandemic.
The average temperature in Japan is 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) and the highest temperature is 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in the city of Isesaki.
So far, no outages have happened since Sunday. Japan depends greatly on fossil fuels (non-renewable energy), renewable energy contributing only 18% of Japan’s supply of electricity.
The Japanese yen, Japan’s currency, has “slid to a 24-year low against the dollar,” says the Fortune-Features Magazine, meaning that the cost of oil has increased 70% for Japan.
The Ukraine war also has caused energy prices to rise higher and higher. To minimize the cost, Japan launched an awards system to encourage people to save energy and conserve power. The system is based on points worth 2,000 yen (14.70 USD) that residents earn if they participate in a power-saving program.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/25/world/asia/japan-heat-wave.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/06/29/japan-heat-wave-record-weather-tokyo
https://fortune.com/2022/07/05/japan-heatwave-energy-saving-power-blackout-crisis-air-conditioning-toilet-seats
