Expats In Japan Suffering From Worst Heatwave Ever

Expats living in Japan as well as residents and tourists are being warned to stay indoors due to a record-breaking heatwave.

Japan as a whole is suffering under unusually high temperatures during a record-breaking heatwave, with residents, tourists and expats being warned to stay inside as much as possible. In central Tokyo, the mercury soared to over 30° Celsius for the fourth day running, setting a new record for May. One third of the 926 temperature monitoring stations in Japan recorded temperatures higher than 30°C, with the Chiba Prefecture city of Ichihara hitting just under 38°C, Ishikawa in Fukushima stood at a searing 35.5°C, with Obihiro on Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido also recording 35.5°.

Hokkaido, known for its cooler temperatures as well as its heavy snow in winter, saw yet another rise to almost 40°C, the highest temperature ever on the island as well as the highest May reading anywhere in Japan. The worst isn’t over yet, as Monday’s high in Saitama, a city close to Tokyo, registered a sizzling 41.4°C. As a result, the Japanese government has now declared the record-breaking weather as a ‘natural disaster’. Last week, 65 people died due to the stifling heat, with a further 22,647 hospitalised with heatstroke.

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he unprecedented high temperatures don’t seem to be declining, with urgent measures being taken to protect the health of children. Tourists and expats from colder countries are being urged to protect themselves from the heat by taking extra precautions, and the Tokyo government is also advising its male citizens to carry traditional parasols to protect their heads. Social media is showing pics of schoolchildren covering their heads with wet towels, and health warnings have been issued to all residents.