17 heat records broken in Japan

17 heat records broken in Japan

TOKYO
17 heat records broken in Japan

People cross a street on a hot day in Tokyo on August 4, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

Seventeen heat records were broken in Japan Monday, the weather agency said, after the country sweltered through its hottest ever June and July.

Heat waves are becoming more intense and frequent worldwide because of human-caused climate change, scientists say, and Japan is no exception.

The city of Komatsu, in the central region of Ishikawa, saw a new record of 40.3 degrees Celsius Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

Toyama city in Toyama prefecture, also in the central region, hit 39.8C, the highest temperature since records began, according to the JMA.

Fifteen other locations across cities and towns soared to new highs between 35.7C and 39.8C, added the JMA, which monitors temperatures at more than 900 points in Japan.

On July 30, Japan experienced its highest recorded temperature, a sizzling 41.2C in the western region of Hyogo.

 

Experts warn Japan's beloved cherry trees are blooming earlier due to the warmer climate, or sometimes not fully blossoming because autumns and winters are not cold enough to trigger flowering.

The famous snowcap of Mount Fuji was absent for the longest recorded period last year, not appearing until early November, compared with the average of early October.

The speed of temperature increases across the world is not uniform.

Of the continents, Europe has seen the fastest warming per decade since 1990, followed closely by Asia, according to global data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).