Japan sets 2 heat records in one day as mercury soars past 107 degrees
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 mark seen in the western Hyogo region of 41.2 Celsius (106.16 Fahrenheit) only last week.
Last summer was hottest on record, equaling levels seen in 2023 and was followed by the warmest autumn since recordkeeping began 126 years ago.
Last week in tourist hotspot Kyoto, the mercury hit 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), the first time any of Japan's 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 aren't 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 2.89 CELSIUS (37 Fahrenheit) above the 1991-2020 average.
South Korea also saw its second-hottest July, with an average temperature of 27.1 Celsius (80.7 Fahrenheit), 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 (81.86 Fahrenheit).
In Japan, some dams and paddies nationwide are experiencing water shortages, 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, the office 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 4 degrees Celsius (39.2 Fahrenheit) 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 summer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Massive wildfire becomes California's largest blaze of the year
Rising temperatures are posing new challenges for firefighters who have made incremental progress against a massive wildfire in central California which has become the biggest blaze in the state so far this year. More than 870 remote homes and other structures at the northern edge of Los Padres National Forest are threatened by the Gifford Fire, which grew slightly overnight after burning out of control for days. The fire has scorched at least 131 square miles of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, with just 9% containment. It surpassed the 126 square mile Madre Fire, which erupted last month in south-eastern San Luis Obispo County, as the state's largest fire of 2025. Crews working in steep, inaccessible terrain will be dealing with temperatures around 35C on Wednesday and above 38C on Thursday, said Captain Scott Safechuck with Santa Barbara County Fire Department. 'We have hot weather, and we have low relative humidity,' he said. 'So we expect extreme fire behaviour.' Luckily, winds are expected to remain relatively calm, he added. Wildfire risk will be elevated through the weekend across much of inland California as the heatwave intensifies. The southern part of the state has seen very little rain, drying out vegetation and making it 'ripe to burn', the National Weather Service for Los Angeles warned in a statement. Temperatures around 38C are forecast for the Sacramento Valley. More than 2,200 personnel are battling the Gifford Fire, which grew out of at least four smaller fires that erupted on Friday along State Route 166, forcing closures in both directions east of Santa Maria, a city of about 110,000 people. The causes of the fires are under investigation. Flames are racing through a vast, mostly unpopulated region that includes forests, ranches, large canyon properties and agricultural parcels growing wine grapes and strawberries. The weather service warned of health risks from spreading smoke that could affect much of south-west California. Officials reported four injuries, including a firefighter who was treated for dehydration. Over the weekend, a motorist was treated in hospital for burn injuries after getting out of his vehicle and being overrun by flames, and two contract employees assisting firefighters were hurt when their all-terrain vehicle overturned.
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
Massive central California wildfire keeps growing and becomes state's largest blaze of the year
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) — Rising temperatures on Wednesday posed new challenges for firefighters who have made incremental progress against a massive wildfire in central California that has injured four people as it has become the biggest blaze in the state so far this year. More than 870 remote homes and other structures at the northern edge of Los Padres National Forest are threatened by the Gifford Fire, which grew only slightly overnight after burning out of control for days. The fire has scorched at least 131 square miles (339 square kilometers) of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, with just 9% containment. It surpassed the 126-square mile (326-square-kilometer) Madre Fire, which erupted last month in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, as the state's largest fire of 2025. Crews working in steep, inaccessible terrain will be dealing with temperatures in the mid-90s (35 Celsius) on Wednesday and above 100 (38 Celsius) on Thursday, said Capt. Scott Safechuck with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. 'We have hot weather, and we have low relative humidity,' Safechuck said Wednesday. 'So we expect extreme fire behavior.' Luckily, winds are expected to remain relatively calm, he said. Wildfire risk will be elevated through the weekend across much of inland California as the heat wave intensifies. The southern part of the state has seen very little rain, drying out vegetation and making it 'ripe to burn,' the National Weather Service for Los Angeles warned in a statement. Triple-digit temperatures (around 38 Celsius) are forecast for the Sacramento Valley. More than 2,200 personnel are battling the Gifford Fire, which grew out of at least four smaller fires that erupted Friday along State Route 166, forcing closures in both directions east of Santa Maria, a city of about 110,000 people. The causes of the fires are under investigation. Flames are racing through a vast, mostly unpopulated region that includes forestland, ranches, large canyon properties and agricultural parcels growing wine grapes and strawberries. The weather service warned of health risks from spreading smoke that could affect much of southwest California. Officials reported four injuries, including a firefighter who was treated for dehydration. Over the weekend, a motorist was hospitalized with burn injuries after getting out of his vehicle and being overrun by flames. And two contract employees assisting firefighters were also hurt when their all-terrain vehicle overturned.
Washington Post
6 hours ago
- Washington Post
Maps show where record heat will hit the Southwest this week
Record temperatures are expected in the Southwest U.S. as a heat dome of high pressure is targeting the region Wednesday and through the rest of the week. Temperatures as high as 120 degrees or higher are expected, amid numerous anticipated record highs and warm lows. Extreme heat warnings cover most of the southern half of Arizona and continue into southeastern California. Areas including Phoenix, Tucson, Palm Springs and the Grand Canyon are all under this highest level of heat alert. In some of these places, temperatures won't fall below 90 degrees at night, increasing the risk of severe heat effects on people there. Heat advisories will stretch west toward the Los Angeles region, stopping just shy of the coastal zone, where some marine influence helps cool the air. Other cities, such as Denver, Albuquerque and El Paso, are under heat advisory on Wednesday and typically through Thursday. Suburbs around Phoenix, such as Tempe and Sierra Vista, are forecast to suffer Level 4 out of 4 heat risk — where illness is common among the general population and services are impacted — both Wednesday and Thursday. Cities including Phoenix, Denver, Albuquerque, and Amarillo, Texas, are among those forecast to experience Level 3 out of 4 risk, which also brings an increased threat of heat illness. The worst of the heat is expected over the next day or two in many spots. Any relief thereafter is slow — and any extreme heat is also expected to exacerbate conditions for ongoing wildfires across the western U.S. The heat dome is particularly strong — often characterized by 'heights' at 500 millibars (about 18,000 feet above the ground), this event is pushing 600 decameters on Wednesday, or the top of the scale on the image below. Only the most intense heat domes during the peak of summer approach or surpass this level. Such intensity is more typical in the western or central U.S. compared to further east. While the heat dome may peak through Thursday, impacts of the highest temperatures will persist into the weekend. In Phoenix, the high this year so far is 118 degrees, reached on July 9. Forecasts for Wednesday and Thursday are right around 117, which would both be records for the dates. Other locations may also test high temperatures of the year, like Denver. The high there this summer is 100 degrees, also reached in early July. The forecast the next two days in the area is upper 90s to around the century mark. Highs at or above 100 degrees are forecast for much of Southern California east of the Los Angeles area mountains, then into a big chunk of Arizona, most of lower-elevation southern New Mexico and then out into the plains of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. These temperatures are about 10 degrees above average in many locations, and as high as 15 degrees or more above average in parts of the high Plains. The overall hottest temperature of the year in the Lower 48 — 124 in Death Valley — may also be threatened in this stretch. That's most likely to occur on Wednesday or Thursday. The highest forecast temperature in California is currently 125 degrees on Thursday around the Salton Sea to the southeast of Palm Springs. For the Southwest, it's late in the season to be seeing the highest temperatures of the year, should they happen. By August, the monsoon — a seasonal shift in winds bringing moisture and thunderstorms to the region — increases humidity relative to earlier in the season and produces more cloud cover. Even without copious rainfall, that combination tends to stifle temperature rises compared to earlier in the summer. But the 2025 monsoon is rather meager to date in much of the Western U.S., with zero to 50 percent of normal precipitation common alongside growing drought. A handful of areas, such as portions of central Arizona and then especially eastward toward eastern New Mexico, have seen above-average precipitation. Drought conditions enhance heat potential, which then further dries the land in a feedback loop that can be difficult to break until the cool season arrives or even beyond. The mix of high temperatures and drought is also fueling a number of large fires in the region, while making them more difficult to fight. The National Interagency Fire Center raised the national preparedness level to 4 out of 5 on Tuesday, largely in response to the worsening threat in the West. Large blazes have now burned more than 1 million acres in the U.S., including an ongoing 125,000-plus acre conflagration near the Grand Canyon, where temperatures could be around 110 degrees the next few days. Red flag warnings for fire weather concerns cover much of Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, plus portions of surrounding states, on the north end of the heat dome where winds will be stronger than further south. Temperatures should moderate somewhat by the weekend as the heat dome relaxes after reaching peak strength. While readings are expected to remain near or above normal in the Southwest into next week, by later next week, odds favor temperatures returning closer to typical, which is still of course rather hot
