Talking to others about the weather has always been a quick and easy conversation topic. The same goes for social media users and online news outlets in Japan, which love to discuss meteorological issues. The arrival of intense summer heat in recent weeks has invigorated netizens, who have gone online to share their experiences and discuss what is likely to be the new norm thanks to climate change.
It didn’t take long after the rainy season officially came to an end for extreme heat and humidity to set in across the country. In the first three days of August, the temperature in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, topped 35 degrees Celsius, prompting people not only to complain about it on Twitter, but also to point out that such conditions aren’t suitable for humans to function in.
Online outlets such as Huffington Post Japan and J-Cast News posted articles focusing on the heat on a daily basis. Users on Twitter, meanwhile, attracted myriad “likes” by repurposing familiar internet images for the Japanese summer.