Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - The government had urged residents and companies to conserve electricity to prevent a potential power sho...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - The government had urged residents and companies to conserve electricity to prevent a potential power shortage until September when the heat wave began, which the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) forecasts to last throughout the summer.
According to JMA, a weather station in Isesaki, a city 85 kilometres (53 miles) northwest of Tokyo, recorded a temperature of 40.2C (104.36F) on Saturday afternoon.
The result surpassed the previous high for a June day in Japan, which was 39.8 degrees on June 24, 2011.
A JMA official attributed the heat to "a powerful anticyclone from the Pacific paired with a cloudless weather."
Tokyo's capital saw its first day above 35°C since records began in 1875 when 35.4°C, which is considered high heat in Japan, was recorded at another meteorological station in the city's centre earlier in the day.
In six of the country's 47 prefectures on Saturday, JMA and the environment ministry issued a heat stroke notice, advising residents to stay inside and use air conditioners.
This summer across northern, eastern, and western Japan will be hotter than usual due to factors like global warming and La Nina, according to JMA's most recent three-month weather forecast, which was released this week.
The country's tighter energy supply, tardy nuclear power restart, shutdowns of thermal power plants, and increased geopolitical danger following Russia's invasion of Ukraine all make the prognosis cause for concern.
