Japan Logs Hottest Summer on Record

Tokyo, Sept. 1 (Jiji Press)--Japan logged its hottest summer ever this year, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Monday.

The country's average temperature in June-August was 2.36 degrees Celsius higher than the 30-year average through 2020 for the three-month period, hitting the highest figure in records dating back to 1898, the agency said.

The previous records were set in 2023 and last summer, when temperatures exceeded 1.76 degrees above average.

The new record is "abnormally high," said Yoshinori Oikawa, head of the agency's Center for Information on Climate Extremes.

"Global warming is one of the major factors, and in the long run we will have more extremely hot summers," he said.

The high temperatures this summer were mainly due to continuous strong sunshine as the Japanese archipelago was covered by both Pacific and Tibetan high-pressure systems, which were intensified by high sea surface temperatures in Southeast Asia and active cumulonimbus cloud formation.

The westerly wind, flowing between cold air in the north and warm air in the south, moved north from the average year, bringing significantly high temperatures to Hokkaido, northern Japan, and the Tohoku northeastern region.

The heat wave was prolonged as the rainy season ended in June, earlier than usual in areas other than Tohoku.

The monthly average was 2.34 degrees higher than average in June, 2.89 degrees in July and 1.84 degrees in August.

Temperatures reached or exceeded 40 degrees on nine days and at 30 locations in 13 prefectures.

On Aug. 5, the temperature in Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, hit a record high for the country, at 41.8 degrees.

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