TOKYO: “Heatwave in Tokyo Claims Six Lives”, Six people have died of heatstroke in Tokyo as Japan swelters under a rare rainy season heatwave, prompting authorities to issue a flurry of health warnings.
Over the weekend, the central Shizuoka region became the first in Japan to see the mercury reach 40 degrees Celsius this year, far surpassing the 35-degree threshold classified by weather officials as “extremely hot”.
Such severe heat in the middle of Japan’s rainy season is “rather rare”, caused in part by a strong South Pacific high-pressure system, a weather agency official told AFP.
Temperatures also hit record highs near 40 degrees Celsius on Monday (Jul 8) at observation posts in Tokyo and in the southern Wakayama region, according to local media.
The past few days have seen authorities issue heatstroke alerts in much of the country, urging residents to avoid exercising outside and to use air conditioning.
“It’s a life-threatening emergency,” said 60-year-old Hisako Ichiuji.
Typically facilities such as community centres or libraries equipped with air conditioners, the shelters are part of a scheme adopted this year requiring local governments to provide people a respite from the heat after warnings go out.
The capital logged three deaths linked to heatstroke on Saturday and three more on Monday, when the mercury hovered around 35 degrees Celsius at midday, according to the city’s medical examination office.
Yamamoto’s age puts her in the demographic flagged by health experts as particularly vulnerable to heatstroke, along with infants and those living alone or who are too poor to afford air conditioning.
The sheer number of fatalities suggests that heatstroke now poses a danger on par with that of “a major natural disaster”, the group said, warning against non-essential outings.
