Bandung, IndonesiaSentinel.com — Japan experienced its hottest summer on record this year, a phenomenon of extreme temperature increases that has taken hundreds of lives. According to data released by the Japan Meteorological Agency on Monday, September 2, 2024. The temperatures matched those of 2023, which was also one of the hottest years on record.
“Japan’s long-term average temperature between June and August was 1.76 degrees Celsius above the standard value, the highest since records began in 1898,” the agency reported.
A Japanese weather agency official explained there are unusual western wind patterns over the country, which allowed warm air from the south to more easily cover the island nation. “The long-term effects of global warming are also contributing to rising average temperatures,” said weather agency official Kaoru Takahashi.
July 2024 became the hottest month Japan has ever recorded, with extreme temperatures in japan across the archipelago averaging 2.16°C higher than usual. The weather agency said that during the day, this extreme temperature can reach as highs as 40 degrees or above in six different locations. It caused 123 people to die from heatstroke in central Tokyo as the extreme heatwave came.
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In addition to the scorching temperatures, Japan was also struck by Typhoon Shanshan last week. A powerful storm that killed at least six people, including three family members in a landslide, and brought record-breaking rainfall to many regions.
An attribution analysis by Imperial College London found that Typhoon Shanshan’s winds were 26% more likely to occur due to global warming.
The effects of global warming keep on happening worldwide. Besides the Japan, extreme temperatures have been reported in the Mediterranean Sea, Norway’s Arctic Svalbard archipelago, and the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in recent weeks.
In Europe, Greece has seen a 50% increase in summer wildfires this year compared to 2023. The country also recorded its earliest heatwave and warmest winter on record.
“Rising temperatures are leading to longer wildfire seasons and increasing the area burned in wildfires,” according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
(Raidi/Agung)
