21,047 taken to hospital for heatstroke in July
TOKYO —
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday that 21,047 people were taken to hospital to be treated for heatstroke in July as temperatures remained above 30 degrees for three consecutive weeks across most of the nation.
The figure surpassed the figure for July 2011, which was 17,963, but was less than the figure for July 2010—28,448.
For the week from July 30 to Aug 6, the number of people taken to hospital for heatstroke was 6,981, the agency reported.
Meanwhile, the Japan Meteorological Agency said that temperatures are expect to remain in the 30-35-degree range until at least the middle of August.
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0
JeffLee
As for the cities, plant more grass and broad-leaf trees, and don't prune the trees to toothpick sizes. Allow the branches to cast dappled shade across public areas. Pour less concrete and dig up all the superfluous concrete that does exist. Create huge outdoor swimming complexes that don't get crowded, and keep them running from May to October.
In other words, do what Singapore does. Tokyo's heat island effect is wicked. Fixing it is not rocket science.
3
movieguy
@ JeffLee - Yeah, but "summer" doesn't start until July and it "ends" on August 31st so how can swimming complexes be open from May to October?
-3
JeffLee
movieguy: Indeed. From Sept. 1, humans lose the ability to enjoy swimming in 30+ degree heat. It's a scientific fact, right?
-4
smithinjapan
And probably 21,000 of those who got heatstroke were kids forced to practice sports outdoors or in stuffy gymnasiums. You would think people would learn, but I guess not.
-3
JeffLee
@smithinjapan: Exactly. I once headed to a high-school pool that was temporarily open to the public. I was turned away due to a "photochemical smog alert" that shut the pool. Lovely. Adjacent were kids were playing little league baseball, on gravel (no grass, no trees, no shade), in 35 degrees mid-afternoon in the sun.
Irritated, I asked the old-bat volunteers at the pool why children were not banned from playing a much more dangerous activity. I was told in an impatient tone of voice because "it is an organized sport." (Swimming is dangerously individualistic, you know.)
True story. As long as such attitudes and practices exist, expect more deaths to come.
(BTW, the ward's policy of deriving actual use of school pools during the summer hols has since been abolished. Now the pools sit collecting garbage and algae throughout August.)
-1
basroil
smithinjapanAug. 08, 2012 - 09:15AM JST
A good deal of them probably were people outdoors with no protection. But there have been several deaths, almost exclusively among elderly, inside homes that had AC turned off or even left on heating. Those are far more preventable and far more dangerous, since if you are outside people can see you, but not in the privacy of your own home.
-1
zichi
The number of cases for children and people below 17-years is very low. Over 45's.......
-5
JeffLee
The number of cases for children and people below 17-years is very low.
There are been some cases on the news about groups of school kids being hospitalized after sports events, etc. One TV news report showed the schoolyard. Although it was out in the countryside, the yard was dirt, no trees, no shade, no greenery. It looked like a desert.
1
Onniyama
Jeff Lee. I know what you mean. My son plays soccer on one of those desert-like fields. The heat is just oppressive out there. Definitely, more grass and normal-looking trees would help.
-2
smithinjapan
basroil: "But there have been several deaths, almost exclusively among elderly, inside homes that had AC turned off or even left on heating. Those are far more preventable and far more dangerous, since if you are outside people can see you, but not in the privacy of your own home."
I seem to recall in the last heatstroke article it said the majority were students, but I realize of course that the elderly suffer it as well, and the cases where it results in death are almost exclusively seniors. Why they switch off the AC in such heat and leave themselves open to the sickness is beyond me, but I know a lot of elderly who just don't like air-conditioning to begin with. I hadn't used mine at all until earlier this month, but it's become unbearable.
1
Thunderbird2
The elderly probably switch off the AC to save money as the power companies hike up their prices.
0
basroil
Thunderbird2Aug. 08, 2012 - 04:18PM JST
Some do, some are simply ignorant of the affect of heat on their bodies.
0
Charles M Burns
How can you live to an old age and be unaware of the effects of heat? The people grew up here and the summers are the same every year and people die from the heat every year.
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