On Tuesday, the country’s weather agency revealed that Japan experienced its hottest June on record. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the nationwide average temperature was 2.34 degrees Celsius above normal, based on figures recorded between 1991 and 2020. It was also close to 1 degree Celsius warmer than the previous record set five years ago.
More than 200 weather stations recorded temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius from the start of May to mid-June. The most intense temperatures last month were recorded between June 16 and June 18. The average temperature 1,500 meters above sea level during that period was the highest since 1950 at 17.2 degrees Celsius. Much of Japan was still in the rainy season at the time. The agency said the severe heat is expected to continue throughout July.
Unusual Heat Waves in Europe
In the past few days, many countries in the Northern Hemisphere have experienced unusual heat waves. On Saturday, Spain’s national weather service confirmed a record 46 degrees Celsius reading in the southern town of El Granado in the Andalucían province of Huelva. The country’s highest temperature previously recorded for the month was 45.2 degrees Celsius in Seville 60 years ago.
The following day, Mora, a city around 60 miles east of Lisbon, registered a reading of 46.6 degrees Celsius, a record for mainland Portugal. In France, meanwhile, heat warnings covered almost the entire mainland for the first time ever. By lunchtime on Tuesday, close to 2,000 schools and colleges had decided to close. “Extreme heat is no longer a rare event — it has become the new normal,” said UN Secretary General António Guterres.
Expect ‘Even Worse’ in the Future
The world will simply have to get used to these extreme conditions. That is the message from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). “As a result of human-induced climate change, extreme heat is becoming more frequent, more intense. It’s something we have to learn to live with,” said WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis on Tuesday. She added: “What can we expect in the future? More of the same, even worse.”
