Latest news with #YukikoImada
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Japan on alert after four people die amid early summer heatwave
Japan has issued a public alert after record-breaking early-summer heat enveloped much of the country this week and four people died from suspected heatstroke. The Kanto–Koshin region recorded temperatures above 35C at 65 observation points, with Kofu touching 38.2C, Takasaki 37.7C and Shizuoka 37.6C. In all, at least 547 locations in the country recorded temperatures over 30C this week, including Tokyo at 34.8C and Osaka at 33.4C. 'The current heat is clearly unusual,' Yukiko Imada, professor in the University of Tokyo's Climate System Research department, told the South China Morning Post. The four people who died of heatstroke were all elderly and included a woman aged 96 who was found collapsed in a field in Gunma and later pronounced dead. Tokyo hospitals treated 169 people for heatstroke symptoms on 18 June and a further 57 the next day, demonstrating mounting strain on healthcare services. Authorities have warned that above-average heat is likely to continue through the weekend and have set up more than 500 temporary cooling shelters in affected areas. Emergency services are urging people, particularly the elderly, to stay indoors, hydrate regularly, and avoid unnecessary outdoor activity. Forecasters predict the heatwave to last until the end of this week. They say that clear skies and weak winds driven by a strong Pacific high-pressure system are responsible. The meteorological agency has forecast that summer 2025 is likely to be 'above normal' in terms of temperature, raising concerns of further extreme heat events in the months ahead. The heatwave arrives on the heels of last year's record-breaking summer, the hottest in Japan since records began in 1898. Average summer temperatures in 2024 were 1.76C above the 1991-2020 norm and over 120 people died from heatstroke in Tokyo alone in July 2024. Experts say these extreme early-season heatwaves may intensify with climate change.
The Independent
13 hours ago
- Climate
- The Independent
Japan on alert after four people die amid early summer heatwave
Japan has issued a public alert after record-breaking early-summer heat enveloped much of the country this week and four people died from suspected heatstroke. The Kanto–Koshin region recorded temperatures above 35C at 65 observation points, with Kofu touching 38.2C, Takasaki 37.7C and Shizuoka 37.6C. In all, at least 547 locations in the country recorded temperatures over 30C this week, including Tokyo at 34.8C and Osaka at 33.4C. 'The current heat is clearly unusual,' Yukiko Imada, professor in the University of Tokyo 's Climate System Research department, told the South China Morning Post. The four people who died of heatstroke were all elderly and included a woman aged 96 who was found collapsed in a field in Gunma and later pronounced dead. Tokyo hospitals treated 169 people for heatstroke symptoms on 18 June and a further 57 the next day, demonstrating mounting strain on healthcare services. Authorities have warned that above-average heat is likely to continue through the weekend and have set up more than 500 temporary cooling shelters in affected areas. Emergency services are urging people, particularly the elderly, to stay indoors, hydrate regularly, and avoid unnecessary outdoor activity. Forecasters predict the heatwave to last until the end of this week. They say that clear skies and weak winds driven by a strong Pacific high-pressure system are responsible. The meteorological agency has forecast that summer 2025 is likely to be 'above normal' in terms of temperature, raising concerns of further extreme heat events in the months ahead. The heatwave arrives on the heels of last year's record-breaking summer, the hottest in Japan since records began in 1898. Average summer temperatures in 2024 were 1.76C above the 1991-2020 norm and over 120 people died from heatstroke in Tokyo alone in July 2024.
Malay Mail
14 hours ago
- Climate
- Malay Mail
Blistering summer heat claims four lives in Japan, officials urge immediate precautions
TOKYO, June 20 — Japan is sweltering under an unusually intense heatwave that has left at least four people dead from heatstroke and triggered widespread government warnings, as experts say the scorching weather is unlike anything recorded this early in the year. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has issued repeated heat alerts since Tuesday, urging residents to stay indoors, hydrate, and check on elderly neighbours. The heat has been especially punishing for older citizens — all four recorded fatalities were elderly, including a 96-year-old woman found collapsed in a field in Gunma prefecture. In some parts of the country, temperatures soared more than 10°C above the seasonal average. Kofu, northwest of Tokyo, reported 38.2°C — far above what's typical for Japan's rainy season. Gunma hit 37.7°C, and Shizuoka registered 37.6°C. Tokyo itself reached 34.8°C on Wednesday, while Osaka climbed to 33.4°C. In all, 547 locations nationwide saw the mercury pass 30°C. 'The current heat is clearly unusual,' said Yukiko Imada, a professor with the University of Tokyo's Department of Climate System Research, to South China Morning Post. 'For the first time since records began, over 150 locations have experienced extreme heat exceeding 35 degrees by mid-June.' Imada added that the baiu front — the seasonal rain front — had disappeared unusually early, a phenomenon she attributed to the premature expansion of the Pacific high-pressure system over Japan. 'Typically, the system expands over the country in July or August,' she said. Tokyo doctors treated 169 people for heatstroke on Tuesday alone, with another 57 cases on Wednesday, according to Agence France-Presse. The JMA's three-month forecast suggests the worst may be yet to come. 'There is a high probability that temperatures this year will be above normal,' Imada warned. In 2024, Tokyo alone saw a total of 252 suspected heatstroke deaths from June to early September, according to Mainichi Shimbun. In addition to general heat advisories, the JMA has deployed its heat stress index across 48 cities. None were categorised as 'safe'. In 15 cities, authorities urged residents to hydrate and take breaks if outdoors. In the remaining 32, the message was blunt: 'heavy exercise prohibited'. The agency has also issued practical guidance: avoid unnecessary outings, use air conditioning even if concerned about energy bills, and stay in contact with vulnerable neighbours. Last summer tied Japan's hottest on record. Officials coined new terms like moshobi — ferociously hot days above 35°C — and kokushobi — cruel heat days above 40°C — as extreme temperatures became increasingly frequent. Gunma recorded temperatures above 40°C in July 2023. Since 2000, Japan has seen such highs on 59 occasions. The national record of 41.1°C was hit in both Saitama (2018) and Shizuoka (2020). Cooling shelters have been set up in some areas, while local governments continue to monitor vulnerable populations. The extreme weather is expected to persist into the weekend.
South China Morning Post
19 hours ago
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Japan on alert against scorching temperatures after 4 die of heatstroke
At least four people have died of heatstroke and the Japan Meteorological Agency has warned people to take precautions against an early heatwave that has enveloped the nation. The sudden spike in temperatures began on Tuesday, with Kofu reporting a high of 38.2 degrees Celsius (100.7 degrees Fahrenheit), more than 10 degrees above average for the middle of June, which is typically the rainy season in Japan. Temperatures of 37.7 degrees were reported in Gunma prefecture and 37.6 degrees in Shizuoka. Tokyo recorded a high of 34.8 degrees and Osaka was at 33.4 degrees, according to the agency, with 547 locations across the country reporting temperatures past 30 degrees. The four people who died of heatstroke were all elderly and included a woman aged 96 who was found collapsed in a field in Gunma and later pronounced dead. Doctors in Tokyo treated 169 people for symptoms of heatstroke on Tuesday and a further 57 on Wednesday, Agence France-Presse reported. The above-average temperatures are expected to continue until the weekend. People walk down a street in the Yurakucho district in Tokyo, where temperatures topped 34 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. Photo: AFP 'The current heat is clearly unusual,' said Yukiko Imada, a professor at the University of Tokyo's department of Climate System Research.
Japan Times
21-05-2025
- Climate
- Japan Times
When extreme weather hits, Japan scientists will have faster answers on climate links
A group of scientists in Japan has launched a new research center to rapidly analyze and quantify the impact of global warming on extreme weather events, aiming to make the impact of human-induced climate change more visible to the public. The Weather Attribution Center Japan (WAC), founded Tuesday by an independent group of researchers specializing in a growing field of science called event attribution, aims to publicize the results of its assessment within days of a typhoon, torrential rain or extreme heat — while the impact of the weather event is still fresh in the minds of the public and policymakers. The researchers started studying the link between weather events and climate change about 15 years ago, but until now they have only been able to publish their results a few months after extreme weather occurs. Conventional research methods take months because they require comparisons of massive simulations of data with and without climate change, the scientists said. The team came up with a way to expedite the process for events in Japan by preparing for analysis six to 14 days before the targeted weather event takes place. The researchers will utilize the Meteorological Agency's 'early weather information,' which is released when five-day average temperatures or precipitation levels are expected to deviate widely from the normal. 'Climate change is an issue that requires immediate action,' Yukiko Imada, associate professor at the University of Tokyo and one of the WAC's founding members, said. 'It's important to foster public awareness that the entire society needs to change.' WAC's establishment — supported by grants from financial services giant Fuyo General Lease — comes on the heels of an April report by market research firm Ipsos, which found that Japan had the lowest percentage of people who agreed with the sentiment that individuals like them must act now to combat climate change, at 40%, against a 32-country average of 64%. Members of the Weather Attribution Center Japan announce they will start releasing results of their assessments on climate change's impact on extreme weather events within days of their occurrence, at a news conference on Tuesday in Tokyo. | Tomoko Otake The percentages were highest in the Philippines, Indonesia and Mexico, at 82%, 81% and 80%, respectively. Likewise, only 42% of individuals in Japan who were polled agreed with the view that the government needs to act now to combat climate change or it will be failing their country's people, against a 32-country average of 63%. Despite the increased speed of analysis, the results are accurate, researchers stressed, thanks to the country's huge climate simulation database called d4PDF. The database — created in 2015 with funding from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology — contains results of simulations conducted over thousands of years and factors in Japan's unique geography as well as the influence of ocean-related natural phenomena such as El Nino. The group will start releasing results on its website of its analyses of extreme temperatures, with which the effect of warming is the most clear-cut. It is now testing attribution studies on heavy rainfall and is aiming to eventually automate such analyses. Moves are intensifying in the scientific community to rapidly release findings about climate change's impact on heat waves, landslides, tropical storms and wildfires. For example, when attribution scientists at the Imperial College London analyzed the impact of climate change on Typhoon Shanshan, which battered large parts of Japan last year, they declared warming had "supercharged" it, even while the storm was still crawling through Japan. Likewise, the World Weather Attribution, a pioneer in rapid attribution analysis, investigated the Los Angeles wildfires that started on Jan. 7, announcing on Jan. 28 that human-induced climate change increased the likelihood of the infernos by 35% and their intensity by 6%.
