Japan braces for more heat after hottest July on record – DW – 08/02/2025
People in Japanexperienced their hottest July on record this year, with officials warning of "severe heat" to hit northern and western regions of the country in August.
Average temperature in July was 2.89 degree Celsius higher than the 1991-2020 average for the same month, the nation's Meteorological agency said on Friday.
On July 30, Japan experienced its highest recorded temperature — 41.2C in the western region of Hyogo.
For three years in a row, July has brought record-breaking heat to Japan, with the average monthly temperature reaching new heights in 2023, 2024, and now in 2025.
This July is the warmest since the Japan Meteorological Agency began recording data in 1898.
The amount of rainfall to hit Japan's northern and western regions in July was lower than average. Moreover, the rainy season ended three weeks earlier than usual in western Japan, creating another unwanted record.
On Friday, the agency predicted more rainy and cloudy days in the first half of August, but said more sunny days are expected later this month,
"Please pay attention to temperature forecasts and heatstroke warning alerts, and take appropriate measures to prevent heatstroke. In areas with less precipitation, please be careful to manage your water," the agency's press release warned.
The average temperature for the June to August quarter is "likely to require the record, too," Yoshinori Oikawa, head of the weather agency's Center for Information on Climate Extremes said, as reported by .
Experts have warned that Japan's famous cherry trees are bloomer earlier than usual or not blooming completely due to this shift in weather. The winters are not long or cold enough to trigger flowering.
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Int'l Business Times
3 hours ago
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Japan Sets New Record High Temperature Of 41.8C
Japan logged two new heat records in a day on Tuesday, with the mercury hitting 41.6C and then 41.8C, the weather office said, warning temperatures may rise further still. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as climate change creates ever more erratic weather patterns, and Japan is no exception. The scorching temperatures in the city of Isesaki on Tuesday surpassed the previous record seen in the western Hyogo region of 41.2C only last week. Japan's summer last year was the joint hottest on record, equalling the level seen in 2023, followed by the warmest autumn since records began 126 years ago. Last week in tourist hotspot Kyoto the mercury hit 40C, the first time any of its observation points -- the oldest opened in 1880, the newest in 2002 -- had seen such a high, authorities said. Experts warn Japan's beloved cherry trees are blooming earlier due to the warmer climate -- or sometimes not fully blossoming -- because autumns and winters are not cold enough to trigger flowering. The famous snowcap of Mount Fuji was absent for the longest recorded period last year, not appearing until early November, compared with the average of early October. July was also the hottest since records began in 1898, the weather agency said Friday, with the average monthly temperature 2.89C above the 1991-2020 average. South Korea also saw its second-hottest July, with an average temperature of 27.1C, according the meteorological office, which has been collecting such data since 1973. The hottest July on record in South Korea was in 1994, when the average temperature reached 27.7 degrees Celsius. In Japan some dams and paddies nationwide are experiencing a water shortage, with farmers complaining that the sizzling heat combined with the lack of rain is slowing rice cultivation. Precipitation in July was low over wide areas of Japan, with northern regions facing the Sea of Japan experiencing record low rainfall, it added. The rainy season ended about three weeks earlier than usual in western regions of Japan, another record. Every summer, Japanese officials urge the public to seek shelter in air-conditioned rooms to avoid heatstroke. The elderly in Japan -- which has the world's second-oldest population after Monaco -- are particularly at risk. This year western Europe saw its hottest June on record, as extreme temperatures blasted the region in punishing back-to-back heatwaves, according to the EU climate monitor Copernicus. Dangerous weather stretched into July, with separate research estimating that climate change made the temperature up to 4C hotter, pushing the thermometer into deadly territory for thousands of vulnerable people and greatly worsening the projected death toll. Millions were exposed to high heat stress as daily average temperatures in western Europe climbed to levels rarely seen before -- and never so early in the summer. Pedestrians use battery-powered fans to cool themselves in Tokyo AFP
DW
3 days ago
- DW
Japan braces for more heat after hottest July on record – DW – 08/02/2025
Another summer, another record-breaking heat wave in Japan — the country's weather agency is now urging the residents to manage their water consumption in areas with less rain. People in Japanexperienced their hottest July on record this year, with officials warning of "severe heat" to hit northern and western regions of the country in August. Average temperature in July was 2.89 degree Celsius higher than the 1991-2020 average for the same month, the nation's Meteorological agency said on Friday. On July 30, Japan experienced its highest recorded temperature — 41.2C in the western region of Hyogo. For three years in a row, July has brought record-breaking heat to Japan, with the average monthly temperature reaching new heights in 2023, 2024, and now in 2025. This July is the warmest since the Japan Meteorological Agency began recording data in 1898. The amount of rainfall to hit Japan's northern and western regions in July was lower than average. Moreover, the rainy season ended three weeks earlier than usual in western Japan, creating another unwanted record. On Friday, the agency predicted more rainy and cloudy days in the first half of August, but said more sunny days are expected later this month, "Please pay attention to temperature forecasts and heatstroke warning alerts, and take appropriate measures to prevent heatstroke. In areas with less precipitation, please be careful to manage your water," the agency's press release warned. The average temperature for the June to August quarter is "likely to require the record, too," Yoshinori Oikawa, head of the weather agency's Center for Information on Climate Extremes said, as reported by . Experts have warned that Japan's famous cherry trees are bloomer earlier than usual or not blooming completely due to this shift in weather. The winters are not long or cold enough to trigger flowering.
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How climate change is changing mountaineering – DW – 08/01/2025
The consequences of global warming can no longer be overlooked. Olympian Laura Dahlmeier's fatal mountain accident in Pakistan proved once again that the dangers of mountaineering are increasing. Could mountaineer Laura Dahlmeier still be alive if it weren't for climate change? Of course, any answer to this is speculative. But it cannot be denied that ever-increasing temperatures have also taken their toll on the mountain in Pakistan where the former German biathlon star had her fatal accident. Falling rocks, such as those that caused Dahlmeier's death, are becoming increasingly common on the mountains in the region. The 6096 meter high Laila Peak in the Karakoram is an eye-catcher. Its shape is reminiscent of a shark's tooth jutting into the sky. The mountain is steep on all sides and challenging from a mountaineering point of view. When the author of this article passed this mountain 20 years ago, its north-west face was still covered in a thick layer of snow. This attracted not only mountaineers, but also extreme skiers who tried their hand at descending this steep face. Now though, there is only a thin layer of snow in some places on this mountain flank, while large areas are now bare rock. Before this year's climbing season, which began in July, the usual precipitation had failed to materialize. In addition, very high temperatures accelerated the melting of the snow. In the small town of Chilas, located at 1265 meters above sea level on the southern edge of the Karakoram, the thermometer rose to a record 48.5 degrees Celsius (119 Farenheit) in July. Up to altitudes of over 5500 meters, it rained instead of snowing, and there was not even a night frost in some places. Mountaineers reported unusually warm and dry conditions on the country's mountains up to over 8000 meters. Snow and ice are normally a kind of natural glue that ensures that boulders stay in place. If the snow melts, the risk of rockfall and wet snow avalanches increases. Some expeditions left the Karakoram prematurely this summer without reaching the summit. The verdict: too dangerous. "I believe that in future, expeditions will have to get to Pakistan earlier - because of climate change, which is very clearly noticeable there,' says experienced German mountaineer David Göttler. "I think that's inevitable.' Göttler climbed the 8,125-metre-high Nanga Parbat at the end of June - in alpine style, i.e. without bottled oxygen, without permanently installed ropes, without fixed high camps and without the support of sherpas. Together with his two team mates from France, he had previously acclimatized to the thin air on a six-thousander and a seven-thousander in Nepal. "It's crazy how quickly these mountains are changing," Göttler said. "The objective dangers are increasing, and rockfall is on the rise." One example is the 7,162-meter-high Baruntse, not far from Mount Everest. "Huge crevasses open up on the summit ridge, and you have to find your way around them. It wasn't a very challenging mountain in the past," Göttler added. "But now, even as a beginner, you really have to know what you are doing with your crampons on a seven-thousander like this." To avoid the threat of rockfall in the warm midday hours, climbers have started to set off earlier and earlier. On particularly vulnerable mountains, climbers have turned to climbing at night and resting during the day. Extreme weather events caused by climate change are also increasing on the highest mountains. In the Karakoram, several concrete bridges over rivers were literally washed away after heavy rainfall a week and a half ago. This meant that expeditions had to take alternate routes on their arrival and departure. At least 18 people died. In Nepal, floodwaters destroyed a bridge over a border river to Tibet in July. More than 20 people lost their lives. The flooding was triggered by heavy monsoon rains, aggravated by a glacial lake flood. Due to increasing glacial melt, large lakes have been forming below natural dams. If these dams break, water masses flow downhill. The number of such so-called GLOFs (Glacial Lake Outburst Floods) has been rising rapidly in the Himalayas and Karakoram, according to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Nepal. There are fears that over the medium term, the increasing dangers – and the associated declining chances of reaching a summit – could lead to a decline in interest in commercial expeditions. For regions like the Mount Everest area in Nepal or many small towns and villages in northern Pakistan, this would be an economic catastrophe. Most people there are dependent upon mountain tourism for their livelihoods. If the climbers stay away, not only will the local mountain guides and porters lose their jobs, but lodge owners will have no more guests, and innkeepers and traders will lose their customers as well. This is a key reason why Nepal and Pakistan have repeatedly sounded the alarm about the dangers of global climate change – and continue to urge industrialized countries to take action to combat it. So far, their pleas have gone largely go unheeded – just like that of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "Nepal has lost close to one third of its ice in just over 30 years. Antarctica and Greenland are losing billions of tons of ice mass every year," Guterres said during a 2023 visit to the Everest region in Nepal. "Melting glaciers means swollen lakes and rivers flooding, sweeping away entire communities. "I'm here to cry out from the rooftop of the world, stop the madness!"
