2022 Japan heat wave explained

2022 Japan heat wave
Areas: Japan
Highest Temp C:40.2
Highest Temp Location:Isesaki
Fatalities:None
Hospitalizations:15,657
Start Date Ref:28 June 2022
End Date Ref:25 August 2022

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

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. 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 40.2C, while temperatures in Tokyo reached at least 35C 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.

History

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

Japan was also badly affected by the 2018 Northeast Asia heat wave, which saw 41.1C being reached in Kumagaya, 65km (40miles) northwest of Tokyo, constituting an all-time high for all of Japan.[8] Other cities recorded temperatures near 40C,[9] with Kyoto temperatures exceeding 38C 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.

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

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Woodcock (Metdesk) . Jodie . 2022-06-27 . Weather tracker: Japan swelters as 'heat dome' pushes up temperatures . 2022-09-01 . the Guardian . en.
  2. Web site: Heatwave continues across Japan NHK WORLD-JAPAN News . 2022-08-02 . NHK WORLD . en.
  3. Web site: Japan: Heatwave forecast across western regions through at least Aug. 25 . 2022-09-01 . Japan: Heatwave forecast across western regions through at least 25 Aug. Crisis24 . en.
  4. News: 2022-06-29 . Japan swelters in its worst heatwave ever recorded . en-GB . . 2022-06-29.
  5. Ro . Christine . 2022-09-01 . Can Japan really reach "zero deaths" from heat stroke? . BMJ . en . 378 . o2107 . 10.1136/bmj.o2107 . 1756-1833. free .
  6. Web site: 2022-07-03 . Tokyo marks record ninth straight 'extremely hot day' as heat wave continues . 2022-09-04 . The Japan Times . en-US.
  7. Web site: 2022-08-07 . Japan Times 1922: Heat wave still grips capital city . 2022-09-01 . . en-US.
  8. News: 23 July 2018 . Record High in Japan as Heat Wave Grips the Region . . dead . 23 July 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180723124113/https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/07/23/world/asia/ap-as-asia-heat-wave.html . 23 July 2018.
  9. News: Osborne . Samuel . 25 July 2018 . Japan heatwave: Death toll climbs to 80 after nation declares deadly temperatures a natural disaster . The Independent . live . subscription . 25 July 2018 . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/japan-heatwave-latest-death-toll-killed-hot-weather-natural-disaster-a8462656.html . 1 May 2022.
  10. News: 21 July 2018 . Japan heatwave: Warnings issued amid scorching temperatures . . 23 July 2018.
  11. Web site: Merino . Daniel . 2020-07-23 . The First Undeniable Climate Change Deaths . 2022-09-01 . Slate Magazine . en.
  12. Web site: Japan sees second-hottest summer on record-Xinhua . 2022-09-04 . english.news.cn.
  13. Web site: 2022-07-06 . Record 15,000 people needed hospital care in June due to historic heat wave . 2022-09-01 . The Japan Times . en-US.
  14. Web site: 2022-06-29 . Japan to use nuclear reactors to meet electricity demand as heatwave rages on . 2022-06-29 . The Independent . en.
  15. Web site: Heather. Chen. Junko. Ogura. Mayumi. Maruyama. Japan tells millions to save electricity as record heat wave strains power supply . 2022-06-28 . 2022-06-29 . CNN.
  16. News: Ueno . Hisako . Singh . Karan Deep . 2022-07-02 . Japan Swelters Through a Punishing Heat Wave . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-08-31 . 0362-4331.
  17. Web site: McCurry . Justin . 2022-08-25 . Japan eyes return to nuclear power more than a decade after Fukushima disaster . 2022-09-01 . the Guardian . en.
  18. News: Kohyama . Kaori . 2022-07-25 . Japanese Insurers Sell Heatstroke Coverage During Sizzling Summer . en . Bloomberg.com . 2022-09-01.

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