High temperatures across much of Japan are set to last for another month, according to the national weather forecaster, with the persistent heat potentially keeping power demand elevated.
A high-pressure system that keeps warm air near the surface has caused prolonged hot weather in Japan since June, the Meteorological Agency said in a bulletin on Tuesday. Many cities have seen temperatures well above average in the past two months, with Sapporo recording levels more than 4 degrees Celsius above normal.
The country has broken several temperature records during this year’s summer, with the outlook for rising cooling demand seen boosting prices on Japan’s spot power market.
Continued dryness may also hit hydropower production. Last month, Tohoku Electric Power suspended operations at its Naruko power plant in Miyagi Prefecture due to drought. If the heat and dryness continue and hydropower generation falls, Japan may need to rely more on liquefied natural gas to meet its power requirements.
On the agriculture front, the key rice-producing regions of Tohoku and Hokuriku are witnessing less than half their usual rainfall in the two months to Monday, the weather bureau said. That’s raising risks to the nation’s staple grain at a time of growing public resentment over the cost of living.
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