NEWSWORTHY
Home appliance shipments in Japan hit 22-year high in 2018 due to heat wave
Domestic shipments of large household electric appliances hit their highest level in 22 years in fiscal 2018, with the heat wave last summer contributing to an uptick in sales of air conditioners, according to an industry body. The shipments in the year that ended March ...
The frequency of ocean heat waves has surged more than 50 percent since the early 20th century in a threat to fish, corals and other marine life stoked by global warming, an international study showed on Monday. Abrupt local spikes in temperatures, far less researched ...
Australia suffered its hottest summer on record from December through February, and forecasts show the autumn will continue to be drier and warmer than average, the government said Thursday. "After a record hot December and January, it won't come as a surprise that this summer ...
Last summer's heat wave in Japan helped push appliance shipments to 22-year high
Driven by strong sales of air conditioners, appliance shipments in terms of value reached their highest level in 22 years in 2018, an industry body said Monday. The value, ¥2.45 trillion and up 4.1 percent from a year before, was also boosted by brisk sales ...
As many as a million fish are believed to have died along the banks of a major river system in drought-battered eastern Australia, and the authorities warned Monday of more deaths to come. The banks of the Murray-Darling Rivers are thick with rotten fish, with ...
Australia likely to set December heat record, prompting fire bans and health warnings
Australia looks set to sweat through one of its hottest Decembers ever, the national weather bureau said on Friday, prompting fire bans, health warnings and big crowds trying to cool off at beaches. As the country's hottest town, Marble Bar in the remote northwest, endured ...
'Sodanē': Japan uses top buzzword of 2018 to end year on a high note
After months of scandals in sports, politics — and society as a whole — the top buzzword of 2018, announced Monday, struck a strikingly positive tone as the year winds down. "Sodanē," essentially a shortened form of sō da ne (that's right) that was popularized ...
Scientists warn global warming will increase heat-related deaths and disease around the world
Climate change is making more people around the world vulnerable to heat exposure, putting them at greater risk of heart and kidney disease, heat stress and other heat-related killers, scientists warned Wednesday. Global warming's effects look most serious for aging and urban populations and people ...
Japanese buzzwords of the year nominees reflect myriad influences and issues
Thirty candidates for buzzword of the year, announced Wednesday, highlight the numerous scandals that rocked Japan's amateur sports, the brutal summer of natural disasters as well as the country's response to the worldwide #MeToo movement against sexual harassment. The words nominated for the 2018 U-Can ...
Natural disasters shake the nation to attention in 2018
You wake to pitch blackness, the house shaking crazily. Nightmare? Yes — a waking one. "Where are my glasses?" You're helpless without your glasses. The shaking gets worse. Earthquakes, typhoons, torrential rain, withering heat — this summer was a crash course in coping with natural ...
Japan seems to suffer more than its fair share of natural disasters, and this past summer was especially bad. In addition to two earthquakes that resulted in considerable damage, there were strong storms that killed dozens and forced thousands to flee their homes. Some people ...
Japan's diverse bunch of disaster volunteers are primed for a warming world
In these polarized times, crises bring together people from a range of backgrounds to spread the word about perils linked to climate change.
