Mercury Hits 40 C in Shizuoka, 1st in Japan This Year

Tokyo, July 7 (Jiji Press)--The central Japan city of Shizuoka on Sunday became the first place in Japan to see temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius this year.

The Shizuoka meteorological observatory in the city's Suruga Ward registered 40 degrees at 1:18 p.m., rewriting its highest temperature since records began in 1940.

As of 3 p.m., the daily maximum temperature was 35 degrees or higher at 238, or more than a quarter, of all observation points across the country, the highest number this year.

The scorching heat has persisted for the past few days, due to a Pacific high pressure system over a wide range of areas between the southern part of the Tohoku northeastern region and the southern prefecture of Okinawa.

With the seasonal rain front remaining over the Sea of Japan north of the Japanese archipelago, Monday is also forecast to be an "extremely hot day" in many areas of the country.

The Japan Meteorological Agency and the Environment Ministry are urging people to avoid going outside in the daytime and to take measures to prevent heatstroke, such as using air conditioners.

Among areas other than Shizuoka on Sunday, temperatures rose to 39.8 degrees in the town of Shimonita, Gunma Prefecture, 39.2 degrees in the city of Otsuki, Yamanashi Prefecture, and 38.8 degrees in the town of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture.

Among major cities, temperatures climbed to 34.4 degrees in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, 37.7 degrees in the central city of Nagoya and 34.8 degrees in the western city of Osaka.

Japan's record-high temperature is 41.1 degrees, which was recorded in the city of Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, in July 2018 and also in the city of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, in August 2020.

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