A record-setting heat wave is the latest weather catastrophe to beset Japan. On Sunday, a weather station outside Tokyo reached the hottest temperature ever recorded in the island nation, and emergency responders have been swamped with requests for help in the searing heat.
This summer has been one of catastrophe for Japan. The heat arrived in mid-July, following record rains that killed at least 200 people and a typhoon that strafed the country’s southern islands. Things really began cooking this weekend, though, and reached a fever pitch on Monday.
Kumagaya, a town located about 40 miles northwest of Tokyo, suffered through temperatures of 41.1 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday. That set a new all-time heat record for Japan, besting a 2013 reading of 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 degrees Fahrenheit). Tokyo also set an all-time record for the city, reaching 40.8 degrees Celsius (105.4 degrees Fahrenheit).
But the heat has hardly been confined to the metro area. According to Kyodo News, nearly 70 percent of weather stations monitored by the Japan Meteorological Agency have recorded temperatures in excess of 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). At least 241 of the 927 stations in the network have cracked 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit). Only Hokkaido to the north has managed to keep its cool.