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The Guardian reports:
An "unprecedented" heatwave in Japan has killed at least 65 people in one week, government officials have said, with the weather agency classifying the record-breaking weather as a natural disaster.
The deaths in the week to Sunday were due to heatstroke, while another 22,647 people were admitted to hospital, the Japanese fire and disaster management agency said.
[...] The agency said on Tuesday that 80 people had died from the heat since the beginning of the month, and more than 35,000 had been admitted to hospital.
[...] The city of Kumagaya set a national heat record on Monday, with temperatures hitting 41.1C (106F).
[...] The high temperatures follow record rainfall that caused floods and landslides in western and central Japan, killing more than 220 people.
[...] The extreme weather has revived concerns about the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, which will be held in July and August.
(Score: 1, Troll) by Dale on Thursday July 26 2018, @06:33PM (4 children)
It doesn't seem like it was that hot to me either. I suspect people there aren't used to it and have no idea how to handle those temps though (I'd be useless in the cold). This week where I am outside the Austin area it was still 98 degrees at midnight after being 108-115 in the area in the afternoon (heat index over 120-125).
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 26 2018, @06:51PM
Sounds more like you have no idea what you're talking about.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by suburbanitemediocrity on Thursday July 26 2018, @08:44PM (1 child)
Yeah, I was in Phoenix in 1990 when it hit 50C (122F). It was just another day. My family did not even have an AC. We sleep on the floor with the door open and in front a lot of box fans when it got really hot. Everyone has an AC now though. On of the suckier things I remember (don't live there any more) is that the cold water was luke warm. Two weeks later I remember going to a party and it was 40C (103F) at 8pm (it gets humid there during the Monsoons from the beginning of July and it stays hot all night). An hour later, there was a massive hail and wind storm and remember everyone's yards looked like Christmas.
(Score: 2) by Subsentient on Friday July 27 2018, @08:07AM
I live in the Phoenix area. It's a goddamn blast furnace. I hear about "it's a dry heat" constantly, but I tell people, so is an OVEN.
It's already hit like 117F here. The sun is painful when it touches my skin. Arizona is a godforsaken place.
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
(Score: 2) by theluggage on Friday July 27 2018, @10:44AM
Apart from the humidity factor, there's also practical issues like the design of buildings etc. In the UK we're currently suffering a "heatwave" because we've had a few weeks of consistently 30ºC+ temperatures - that's nothing globally-speaking, but from the UK perspective the last time such a long hot spell happened was 1976 and even the near-record one-off "peak" temperatures we're seeing are 5-10 yearly events. Its not just lack of A/C - our houses and offices just aren't designed for weather that only happens once every decade. If this was a regular occurrence, for example, I'd make significant changes to the ventilation of my house, add a sunshade over the patio etc. As it is, I've got an ancient portable AC unit (bought for historical reasons) that gets used on average about once a year.
OK, you're right - there's personal preparedness as well. It never occurs to me to grab a hat, a bottle of water and sunscreen when I leave the house (I only own a hat because I once visited Australia).
Then, we also get sustained snow and ice on a ~once-a-decade basis and people wonder why we aren't prepared (don't buy a snow plough on a 3-year-lease folks).