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Temperature tops 30 degrees in Tokyo for first time this year

53 Comments

The temperature topped 30 degrees in Tokyo on Tuesday for the first time this year as much of the nation baked in unseasonable hot weather.

The mercury rose to 30.1 degrees in central Tokyo at 1 p.m., the Japan Meteorological Agency said, adding Tuesday was the 16th straight day of higher-than-average temperatures for the Kanto region.

The agency said temperatures for the past few days have been about the average for early July.

Elsewhere, the mercury reached 32.3 degrees in Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture, 32 degrees in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture and 31.5 degrees in Kyoto.

The agency said the temperature surpassed 30 degrees at 88 of its 928 monitoring points across Japan.

Meanwhile, in Sue, Fukuoka Prefecture, 35 elementary school children were taken to hospital to be treated for heat exhaustion after they started feeling unwell during a sports event at around 11 a.m., NHK reported.

Fire and Disaster Management Agency officials are urging people to drink plenty of water and use the air conditioner, if necessary.

Last year, more than 50,000 people were taken to hospital to be treated for heat exhaustion between May and September, according to the agency.

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53 Comments
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I wish I could fast-forward to October.

9 ( +13 / -4 )

'Brainiac' my thoughts EXACTLY!!!

I just can't stand stepping out of my place into that heat after just taking a cool refreshing shower and then being pressed into a barely air conditioned train car after that sweaty walk to the station. Then finally you get to work and the office ladies have the AC set to 28c as if they were trying to hatch eggs at work. I just love cool sunny days where the temps hover around 15c and no higher. I guess I could move to Hokkaido for the summer months...

8 ( +12 / -4 )

"Meanwhile, in Sue, Fukuoka Prefecture, 35 elementary school children were taken to hospital to be treated for heat exhaustion after they started feeling unwell during a sports event at around 11 a.m., NHK reported."

As I said last week when two people died and more than 450 were hospitalized for heat stroke, you DON'T have to make kids play outside in the scorching sun on a dirt park that gives off even more heat JUST because you planned to do so that day for sports day practice! Be practical, people! If it's hot on May 26th, turn on the air-conditioners on May 26th even though the decided date is from June 1st! If it's hot, don't go out in the scorching sunlight to play or do farming!

Stay hydrated, and exercise common sense. It's going to be even hotter on Wednesday and Thursday, and if the forecast is correct, following a BRIEF cooldown (of two or three degrees) on Sunday it's going to be in the 30s next week as well. Get ready for a hot summer!

4 ( +11 / -7 )

I'm seriously thinking about building an underground bunker just to hangout in and sleep during the summer.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

We replaced all of our air conditioners a couple of weeks back. I slept with the aircon on last night. It was great. I'm definitely going to be using them lots this summer.

2 ( +7 / -5 )

global warming, big companies just dont care.

-1 ( +6 / -7 )

Here in Itoman (Okinawa) it's about 26-27 today.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

while i don't think 30 degrees is that hot, i do think some of these teachers are idiots for not giving kids enough water or taking breaks. it's so easy to prevent heat stroke, but you hear about it every year during school festivals or sporting events.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Meanwhile, in Sue, Fukuoka Prefecture, 35 elementary school children were taken to hospital to be treated for heat exhaustion after they started feeling unwell during a sports event at around 11 a.m., NHK reported.

I'm sorry for the poor kids that had this forced upon them, but I just can't feel sympathy for this anymore.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

I'm sorry for the poor kids that had this forced upon them, but I just can't feel sympathy for this anymore.

You can't feel sympathy for kids who were forced to be outside in the heat without adequate shelter and water? That's cold.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

But is it a record? No.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

I really enjoy Japan but utterly despise the muggy, rainy climate. Korea is likewise brutally humid in the summer. Parts of mainland China have a decently cool/dry climate....until the air pollution kills you. Best option is to follow KnowBetter's suggestion and get a summer house in Hokkaido.

Too bad "Japan" isn't physically located on Australia's Gold Coast or something.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

External temp 34 degrees it said in my car today, and on an LED sign in the shade by the road it showed 32.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@KnowBetter

I just can't stand stepping out of my place into that heat after just taking a cool refreshing shower and then being pressed into a barely air conditioned train car after that sweaty walk to the station. Then finally you get to work and the office ladies have the AC set to 28c as if they were trying to hatch eggs at work.

I couldn't have put in in better words myself.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

They pruned - sorry, massacred - all the trees lining the road near my house just the other week, so now we have no shade at all from the horrible sun.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Fire and Disaster Management Agency officials are urging people to drink plenty of water and use the air conditioner, if necessary.

A lot of Japanese people start shivering when it gets turned on. Interesting

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Just normal temp, may be body metabolism is abnormal (for those getting heatstroke).

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@Red, yes, and the rainy season. It is actually cooler in Okinawa than Tokyo, BUT oh, the humidity!

3 ( +4 / -1 )

As I said last week when two people died and more than 450 were hospitalized for heat stroke, you DON'T have to make kids play outside in the scorching sun on a dirt park that gives off even more heat JUST because you planned to do so that day for sports day practice! Be practical, people! If it's hot on May 26th, turn on the air-conditioners on May 26th even though the decided date is from June 1st! If it's hot, don't go out in the scorching sunlight to play or do farming!

I find myself in agreement

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Y'all are crying about it being around 85 degrees F.? Man, life is so soft over there.

-4 ( +8 / -12 )

Y'all are crying about it being around 85 degrees F.?

No, people are crying about it being 30+ degrees.

1 ( +8 / -7 )

Well, I think 30 C. is something like around 85 degrees F. That is spring-like weather around these here parts.

-6 ( +5 / -11 )

30 degrees is 30 degrees.

This is either a Japanese site, or an international one, depending on how you want to look at it. Regardless of which, the posters all understand 30 degrees to be 30 degrees. If it were 85, we'd all be boiled and dead.

-4 ( +5 / -9 )

Although I don't care for Texas' tone, I don't think he understands that the body acclimates to weather over time. Mr. Holly and I were in Denver a few years back during a scorching heat wave...same thing. Many people were passing out and rushed to hospitals in ambulances, while we were enjoying the beautiful "dry" heat. Everywhere people were complaining of the heat, but for us, without the humidity, it was paradise. Texas, come over here in July/August and re-read your comments once more.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

"Best option is to follow KnowBetter's suggestion and get a summer house in Hokkaido."

Spent a year in Hokkaido and it was humid as hell, topping out around 28 in July and August. They don't get tsuyu but their summers are unpleasant, unless you're at elevation.

"Y'all are crying about it being around 85 degrees F.? Man, life is so soft over there."

The difference between 30 here and 30 in Tejas or the entire East coast (DC native here) is that Americans walk all of 3 feet per day--front door to car, car to office/shops, garage back into their house. Public transport/pedestrian culture is an entirely different ballgame, as are shops and trains and buses that rarely cool their interiors below 80 degrees.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Mr. Holly and I were in Denver a few years back during a scorching heat wave...same thing. Many people were passing out and rushed to hospitals in ambulances, while we were enjoying the beautiful "dry" heat.

I had a similar experience last year. I was in one of the towns I spent my childhood in, and I remember being so hot when I was a kid. I'd sleep with a spray bottle beside the bed, and spray myself down throughout the night to keep cool. When I was there last year, the people were complaining about how ridiculously hot it was, and I was feeling comfortable due to the lack of humidity. I believe it was about 840321 degrees Fahrenheit, or 35 degrees in real-world temperatures.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

'Well, I think 30 C. is something like around 85 degrees F. That is spring-like weather around these here parts.'

My those there here down there knees are getting weak with all this tough talk. I'm inspired. Sod the sunglasses and short sleeves. I'm going to work starkers tomorrow apart from a holster with two revolvers.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

You Americans are backwards in your measurements.

Backwards, unlike Japan (tsubo), Britain (miles), France (magnum)...? There is not a single country in the world that uses a single measuring system for all its units.

Just state your units, and stop whining.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I think the issue is that it is 30 degrees C (85F) already and it isn't even June yet. People here walk to stations, the trains are hot and sweaty, the offices are stuffy and the trains home already stink of the poor salarymen that have spent the whole day being cooked. The government and companies will try and fry us all until at least October to save money on the air-cons, but the second the heat is bearable they'll stick the effing heating on to please the frigid office lizards, also known as OLs. Meanwhile, instead of having any study going on, the schools are parading our kids around in the heat with no water doing their best to get them all hospitalised and old people have already started dying on their micro farms. These are the regular summer gripes and we're all entitled to a quick moan.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

It was comfortably warm.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Today, one foot out the door and the heat really hits you. Yes, it's pretty hot outside today. But it's not a big deal when I'm in my air-conditioned room. Very cool, or even feel chill. So you don't have to cool down your beer at all. Cheers!

That said, let's be careful about heat stroke!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Brainic If you dislike Summer so much why not move to north Scandinavia? There you will have Summer only for a month. Meanwhile I stay here in Japan and enjoy a long Summer.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

@Tex, I can see why it's known as the one star state. 30 degrees, combined with the humidity and the urban-heat-island effect... killer.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I lived in Tokyo last year, I loved the country and the people but the summer killed me, twas the humidity and a few times it hit 37. It was horrendous. I'm back in London now, ahh it's so much nicer (humidity wise) and I also love the long summer evenings staying bright until 9.30pm. That was hard for me last year in Japan, no summer nights! I'm learning how to copywrite so I can work location free, definitely going to be Hokkaido on my return to Japan (during summer!)

1 ( +3 / -2 )

No air con here as yet and most likely like most years will be hardly used, small fan is enough for me. Unseasonably hot this year, when did spring happen?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

This is one of the downsides of living in Japan. From Sendai southward, Japan can experience some uncomfortable extremes in climate--hot and humid in the summer and pretty cold in the winter (especially on the Sea of Japan side). In fact, it takes a somewhat hardy person to live in the Hokuriku region.

There's a reason why you have cold beverage vending machines everywhere in Japan--might want to take advantage of them starting now.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Today was OK since humidity wasn't that high, wait another month when humidity will rise around 80% and the thermo will no got below 25 degrees C 24/7.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Yup! Those Japanese office ladies with their damn blankets and total domination of the a/c are a menace to office life in Tokyo and other areas where it gets hot. Cool Biz wear is still a few days away but they are still wearing hats and scarfs (mufflers in Japan) on trains.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

High temperatures + stupidity (often) = dead. Another variation is High temperatures + stupid coach (often) = dead students.

Thumb me down all you want, but wait till the numbers come in for July, August and September.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

As long as the temperature drops back below 25 at night, I'll survive this summer.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It's time to rinse out the ice chest and get a new grill. Going to be a hot summer, just hope not too much rain with that el nino phenomenon.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Meanwhile, in Sue, Fukuoka Prefecture, 35 elementary school children were taken to hospital to be treated for heat exhaustion after they started feeling unwell during a sports event at around 11 a.m., NHK reported.

IMHO, criminal charges should be laid against the teachers, principal, vice principal, school nurse and soumu kacho. Perhaps even officials at the local board of education.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I wish I could fast-forward to October.

I wish I was on a beach in Okinawa on this type of day instead of baking in this concrete jungle.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

@Texas A&M,

Tokyo would be in the same latitude as the top part of the Texas panhandle. That is the only similarity Tokyo has to Texas. The air in Texas is relatively dry when it gets warmer, while the air in Japan when the temperature rises is decidedly moist.

The previous comments about acclimatization are words to heed. Working in the cool, dry air of an air conditioned building then going outside into humid heat can shock the body more than usual. For outdoor events, shade needs to be readily available and lots of water must be on-hand. It takes a couple of weeks in the heat before your body adjusts and is able to protect itself better against heat-related complications. Note I said "better" and not "completely".

1 ( +1 / -0 )

One of the things I love about Japan, and I am not being sarcastic, is the prominence of weather-related news. Don't get me wrong, it is probably true in most countries, but there are certain topics that almost seem like just a part of the culture in Japan. And on the newscasts. And weather is definitely one of them.

When did the sakura bloom?! Were they earlier or later than last year? Than average? When was the first snowfall observed on Mt. Fuji and was earlier or later than normal?! And, of course, the arrival and departure of tsuyu. I could go on....

And of course, the temperature hitting certain marks always makes news, although sometimes in English it just doesn't have the same connotations, just because the terminology is numbers whereas in Japanese, it is a word.

So, we have these terms in Japanese:

Natsubi: Temperature above 25 degrees. Manatsubi: Temperature above 30 degrees. Moushobi: Temperature above 35 degrees.

And of course, similar terms if the temperature at night doesn't get below 25 degrees or 30 degrees. All temperatures in Celsius, of course! :-)

The point is that these words have meaning in Japanese and have just sort of become a customary part of the reporting on the weather in Japan. So, when I hear the Japanese newscaster say that today was the first "manatsubi" in Tokyo, it is just sort of like, yeah, dang, it felt a little hot. Like, that is how you are supposed to feel when it is a "manatsubi", particularly when you see the accompanying perfunctory footage of businessmen wiping their foreheads with their handkerchiefs and women with their sun parasols and maybe a kid eating kakigore, etc.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Ever try selling things in the US in metric?

They sell 2 Litres of soda/pop all the time in the USA.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yiou can not compare Tokyo and Tx Humidity affect how a perspn feel

F = C times 1.8 + 32 C = ( F - 32) / 1.8

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Out of curiosity, anybody else not hot yet? I'm in Osaka just now and it's pleasantly warm for me.

Still using my kakebuton.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

And it was not a record. Let me know when every day reaches new record highs. I haven't even used a fan yet. Who are these supposedly "eco-conscious" greenies who can't live without A/C?

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Lucky I am from sunny and hot Mexico!!! 30 degrees centigrade is our winter!! My summer in my desert city goes over 50 degrees centigrade in the summer so I'm enjoying TOKYO big time!!! So many pretty short shorts and mini skirts this season!!!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Who are these supposedly "eco-conscious" greenies who can't live without A/C?

If people are hot, they're hot. It's not a contest.

Although I prefer to use a fan when I do get hot, an a/c does make it easier to sleep. One can be green abut the settings though.

I'll be hiking again this weekend to acclimatize myself for when, for me, it really does get hot and sticky. I've found it effective (if not taken too far).

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Elbuda. Still bet your missing ice cold Modelo Beers y Carne Asada.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

30c is nothing. I've 35 here

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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