Back in the early 1970s, electronic signposts in Tokyo and other major cities used to display levels of carbon dioxide and other air pollutants along with the temperature.

Now in addition to the weather, the media post radiation levels, and people have been scratching their heads to come to grips with unfamiliar terms such as microsieverts and Cesium-137.

Another bit of data now being posted online is electric power demand. Last Wednesday, June 22, was Tokyo's first manatsu-bi (midsummer day). The temperature exceeded 32 degrees Celcius in central Tokyo. The Northern Kanto region, however, recorded a moshobi (day of extreme heat), with Tatebayashi City in Gunma Prefecture posting a high of 36 C.