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Agence France-Presse

Japan experienced its hottest June on record, the weather agency said on Tuesday, as climate change prompts sweltering heatwaves across the globe.
“Japan’s monthly average temperature in June was the highest for the month since statistics began in 1898,” the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
With strong high-pressure systems in June staying in the region, the monthly average temperature ended 2.34 degrees Celsius higher than usual, the agency said.
The temperature of coastal waters near Japan also measured 1.2 degrees higher than usual, tying with June 2024 for the highest since data collection began in 1982, it said.
The body also had a further warning that is becoming routine for Japanese residents: “The next month is expected to continue to bring severe heat throughout the country.”
The announcement came as scientists say human-induced climate change is making heatwave events more intense, frequent and widespread.

Brutal heatwaves are currently sweeping Europe from France to Greece, while the global footballers’ union FIFPro had called for longer half-time breaks at next year’s Fifa World Cup to mitigate the effects of extreme heat.
Japanese meteorologists have warned against drawing a direct link between specific weather, like higher temperatures at a specific time, and climate change.
But they have observed a changing climate over many years that is causing unpredictable weather phenomena.
Japan’s summer last year was the joint hottest on record, equalling the level seen in 2023, followed by the warmest autumn since records began 126 years ago.
Experts even warn that Japan’s beloved cherry trees are blooming earlier due to a warmer climate or sometimes even not fully blossoming because autumns and winters are not cold enough to trigger flowering.


The famous snowcap of Mount Fuji was also absent for the longest recorded period last year, not appearing until early November, compared with the average of early October.
Last week, the rainy season ended in the western region of Japan, the earliest date on record and around three weeks earlier than usual.
Raging typhoons in summer routinely have caused violent floods in Japan, while brutal heatwaves have resulted in deadly heatstrokes among the elderly.
Increasingly dry winters have raised the risk of wildfires, with a northern area of Ofunato earlier this year seeing the nation’s largest forest fire in three decades.
At the same time, other areas have seen record snow falls that resulted in fatal accidents, traffic disruption, and higher avalanche risk.


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Japan

Japan’s hottest June on record sparks climate concerns

People walk under the scorching sun in front of JR Tokyo Station on June 17 as the temperature reaches 34.8 degrees Celsius. Photo: Kyodo

People rest under artificial mist to cool down on a hot day in Tokyo on June 28. Photo: AFP

Japan on alert against scorching temperatures after 4 die of heatstroke

People walk amid scorching heat in Tokyo’s Ginza district on Tuesday. The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned people to take precautions against an early heatwave that has enveloped the nation. Photo: Kyodo

People walk down a street in the Yurakucho district in Tokyo, where temperatures topped 34 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

People rest in the shade in Kagoshima on Tuesday, as the scorching sun hits the southwestern Japan city with the mercury topping 33 degrees. Photo: Kyodo

Asia is heating up at double the global rate amid climate crisis, UN warns

A man in Jammu, India, bathes from a roadside water tap on June 15 to cool himself off on a hot summer day. Photo: AP

Passers-by carry parasols to shade themselves from the heat in Tokyo, Japan, in July 2024. Prolonged heatwaves affected East Asia from April to November last year. Photo: Reuters

Farmers water a field in Jinan, Shandong province, China, last year amid a heatwave alert in the drought-hit region. Photo: Reuters

A man wades through monsoon floods in Nepal’s Kavre district in September 2024. Record-breaking rains killed 246 people and caused losses estimated at US$94 million. Photo: AFP

India’s ‘unbearable’ heatwave hits 47 degrees, sparking health emergency alerts

A volunteer distributes free drinking water outside a Sikh temple, during a hot day in the old quarters of Delhi on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

A passenger traveling in a vehicle stops for a free roadside drink on a hot summer day in Prayagraj in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Students with their face wrapped in a scarf to protect from heat on a hot summer day in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Tuesday. Photo: AP

50,000 evacuated from wildfires in Turkey as Europe battles heatwave: ‘it’s awful’

Crews work to extinguish a wildfire in Sakarya as more than 50,000 people have been evacuated as Turkish firefighters battle a string of wildfires. Photo: DHA/AFP

People fight flames as wildfires spread across Izmir, Turkey. Photo: dpa

A man rests at a park in Madrid, Spain, on June 28. Photo: AP

News

Asia

East Asia

The unprecedented temperatures underscore a worrying global trend of extreme weather events and long-term climate shifts


The unprecedented temperatures underscore a worrying global trend of extreme weather events and long-term climate shifts.


Weather

Climate change

Extreme weather

Environment