2022 Japan heat wave

The 2022 Japan heatwave was a heatwave that affected many prefectures. Temperatures peaked at 40.2 °C (104.4 °F) in Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture. 15,657 people were taken to hospital emergency departments, 5,261 of whom were admitted.

2022 Japan heat wave
13 July 2022 air temperature map, NASA
AreasJapan Japan
Start date28 June 2022
End date25 August 2022
Peak temp. 40.2 °C (104.4 °F), recorded at Isesaki
Losses
DeathsNone
Hospitalizations15,657

The heat dome was attributed to climate change and La Niña.

Heatwave

In June 2022, high pressure over the Pacific Ocean caused a south to south-westerly flow of air, introducing hotter air from the tropics to Japan, fuelling higher temperatures.[1] Meteorologist Jodie Woodcock attributed the heat dome to a combination of climate change and La Niña conditions.[1] The heatwave began on 28 June and lasted until August,[2][3] and was the hottest heat wave in Japanese history[4] since records began in 1875.[5] Isesaki, a city in Gunma Prefecture, saw the highest national temperatures of 40.2 °C (104.4 °F),[4] while temperatures in Tokyo reached at least 35 °C (95 °F) for nine consecutive days.[6]

Japan's rainy season was declared over on 27 June, 22 days earlier in the year than usual, and the earliest end since 1951.[4]

History

Tokyo suffered an extreme heatwave one hundred years earlier, which peaked at 35.7 °C (96.3 °F) on 7 August 1922.[7]

Japan was also badly affected by the 2018 Northeast Asia heat wave, which saw 41.1 °C (106.0 °F) being reached in Kumagaya, 65 km (40 mi) northwest of Tokyo, constituting an all-time high for all of Japan.[8] Other cities recorded temperatures near 40 °C (104 °F),[9] with Kyoto temperatures exceeding 38 °C (100 °F) for seven days in a row for the first time since records began.[10] Over 1,000 people died in the 2018 heatwave.[11]

Overall, the summer of 2022 was the second hottest on record for Japan.[12]

Impact

15,657 people were taken to hospital emergency department.[13] 439 required more than a three-week hospitalisation, with 5,261 being kept in hospital for a shorter amount of time.[13]

Nuclear power stations were used to meet the increased demand for electricity.[14] Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told people to ration air conditioning in order to conserve the limited electricity supplies.[15] Tohoku Electric Power Company advised that the demand for power would put the national grid under strain.[16] Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister for the economy and industry, said that while the public's enthusiasm for nuclear power diminished following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, the government was considering all power generating options, in light of the power shortage created by the heatwave.[17]

Insurance companies Sompo Holdings and Sumitomo Life Insurance both started offering insurance policies designed to cover costs associated with heatstroke.[18]

See also

References
  1. Woodcock (Metdesk), Jodie (27 June 2022). "Weather tracker: Japan swelters as 'heat dome' pushes up temperatures". the Guardian. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  2. "Heatwave continues across Japan | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News". NHK WORLD. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  3. "Japan: Heatwave forecast across western regions through at least Aug. 25". Japan: Heatwave forecast across western regions through at least 25 Aug. | Crisis24. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  4. "Japan swelters in its worst heatwave ever recorded". BBC News. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  5. Ro, Christine (1 September 2022). "Can Japan really reach "zero deaths" from heat stroke?". BMJ. 378: o2107. doi:10.1136/bmj.o2107. ISSN 1756-1833.
  6. "Tokyo marks record ninth straight 'extremely hot day' as heat wave continues". The Japan Times. 3 July 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  7. "Japan Times 1922: Heat wave still grips capital city". The Japan Times. 7 August 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  8. "Record High in Japan as Heat Wave Grips the Region". The New York Times. 23 July 2018. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  9. Osborne, Samuel (25 July 2018). "Japan heatwave: Death toll climbs to 80 after nation declares deadly temperatures a natural disaster". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  10. "Japan heatwave: Warnings issued amid scorching temperatures". BBC. 21 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  11. Merino, Daniel (23 July 2020). "The First Undeniable Climate Change Deaths". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  12. "Japan sees second-hottest summer on record-Xinhua". english.news.cn. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  13. "Record 15,000 people needed hospital care in June due to historic heat wave". The Japan Times. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  14. "Japan to use nuclear reactors to meet electricity demand as heatwave rages on". The Independent. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  15. Chen, Heather; Ogura, Junko; Maruyama, Mayumi (28 June 2022). "Japan tells millions to save electricity as record heat wave strains power supply". CNN. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  16. Ueno, Hisako; Singh, Karan Deep (2 July 2022). "Japan Swelters Through a Punishing Heat Wave". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  17. McCurry, Justin (25 August 2022). "Japan eyes return to nuclear power more than a decade after Fukushima disaster". the Guardian. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  18. Kohyama, Kaori (25 July 2022). "Japanese Insurers Sell Heatstroke Coverage During Sizzling Summer". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  • Heatstroke, Japan Fire and Disaster Management Agency
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