Tag - heat-waves

 
 

HEAT WAVES

The city of Kumamoto on Sept. 18, when the temperature climbed to 37.5 degrees Celsius
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2024
High temperatures to continue in Japan throughout October
The recent heat continues a run of high temperatures stretching back through the summer, with eastern and western Japan witnessing their hottest Septembers on record.
A person rides a scooter underneath a fallen pole following Typhoon Shanshan in Miyazaki on Aug. 29 in this screengrab taken from a social media video.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Sep 23, 2024
Shanshan study spotlights science linking warming to extreme weather
Scientists are now able to assess the influence of climate change on particular weather events within weeks or even days.
Men use a stole to cover themselves from the sun as they wait in a line outside a polling station to cast their votes during the sixth phase of India's general election in Bhubaneswar, India, on May 25.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 16, 2024
Surviving a climate disaster isn’t likely to change how you vote
If people are in fact casting ballots based on their experiences of disasters, it appears to be a small number of them.
Students sit under a misting system during recess at Hikarigaoka Haru no Kaze Elementary School in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, on Sept. 6.
JAPAN / Society / Boiling Point
Sep 16, 2024
Japan’s schools battle to keep kids cool, with or without AC
With extreme heat affecting both health and study, schools are racing to plug AC gaps while experimenting with creative, cheaper solutions.
A firefighter sprays water to fight a forest fire in the city of Sao Carlos, Sao Paulo State, Brazil, on Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Sep 13, 2024
A continent ablaze: South America surpasses record for fires
Satellite data has registered 346,112 fire hot spots so far this year, topping the earlier 2007 record of 345,322.
Passersby outside Shinjuku Station in Tokyo on July 29. A new analysis has found that Japan's extreme heat in July would have been "almost impossible" without climate change.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / Boiling Point
Aug 8, 2024
Japan's record heat in July 'almost impossible' without climate change
Heavy rainfall that caused severe floods the same month was also exacerbated by global warming, according to a new analysis.
Sanrio, the owner of the Hello Kitty brand that operates two indoor theme parks, has enjoyed a 93% gain in its stock this year, as the ongoing heat and heavy rain keep visitors away from outdoor entertainment.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 4, 2024
Hello Kitty stock soars 93% as Tokyo heat sends tourists indoors
Ongoing heat and heavy rain have been key factors in keeping visitors away from outdoor entertainment facilities.
A bulletin board shows the day's highest temperature in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, on July 29.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Aug 8, 2024
From Naha to Nemuro, how Japan’s cities are responding to more heat
Municipalities are reaching for everything from automated misting systems to anime to help cool residents and educate them about the risks of heat.
People at the Sensoji temple in Tokyo in July. The three months between June and August were 1.76 degrees Celsius hotter than average in Japan.
JAPAN / Boiling Point
Sep 2, 2024
Japan sees joint hottest summer on record
The three months between June and August were 1.76 degrees Celsius hotter than average, matching the record set only last year.
A construction worker in Tokyo's Akasaka district on Aug. 21. With 886 cases, 54 of them fatal, during the period from 2019 to 2023, the construction industry leads Japan’s tally for occupational heatstroke.
BUSINESS / Boiling Point
Sep 1, 2024
Clocking off: Japan’s hotter summers put limit on outdoor work
Climate change is forcing businesses to sacrifice productivity in the name of safety in industries ranging from construction to transportation.
A member of the Self-Defense Forces wipes away sweat as he conducts a search and rescue operation at a landslide site caused by heavy rain in Kumano, Hiroshima Prefecture, on July 11, 2018.
ENVIRONMENT / Boiling Point
Aug 29, 2024
Can Japan handle a heat wave and natural disaster at the same time?
Recent typhoons and the Nankai Trough megaquake alert have put the spotlight on how the country would deal with a dual disaster.
Naoto Ooka inspects a new heat-resistant rice breed called Emihokoro that has been planted at the government-run Saitama Agricultural Technology Center in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, on Aug. 7.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2024
As sweltering summers ravage crops, Japan bets on heat-resistant rice
Supermarkets have struggled to keep rice shelves stocked in recent months.
Yasuyuki Kurosawa at his paddy fields in Meiwa, Gunma Prefecture. Tending the crops "is something that we cannot avoid, so we must do what we must do even if it's hot," the 77-year-old farmer said.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2024
Heatstroke risk won't stop Japan's aging farmers as temperatures soar
Agriculture accounts for about 1% of Japan's economy and almost 70% of its 1.4 million farmers are age 65 and above.
A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
BUSINESS / Economy / Longform
Aug 26, 2024
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?
Intense heat and an increase in storms, by-products of a changing climate, are altering consumer behavior.
Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls' School in Kanoi village near Jaisalmer, India, earlier this month. In the sweltering heat of India's Thar desert, an architecturally striking school is an oasis of cool.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 24, 2024
Indian desert school's unique design offers respite from heat
Temperatures inside the school, designed by U.S. architect Diana Kellogg and built by local artisans, can be as much as 20% lower than those outside.
Emergency responders assist a man who collapsed during lengthy heat wave in Phoenix in July last year.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 24, 2024
Heat kills thousands in the U.S. every year. Why are the deaths so hard to track?
As heat waves become more frequent and intense, researchers and activists say the lack of effective tracking is leading to needless deaths.
A construction worker in Akasaka-Mitsuke, Tokyo, on Wednesday. High temperatures are projected to linger on past the summer.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2024
High temperatures expected to continue in Japan through October
The warm fall will follow what has already been a particularly hot summer, with July’s average temperature coming in at a record high for the month.
A supermarket worker puts up a sign asking purchasers to buy only one bag per person, in Tokyo on July 25.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024
Why it's hard to find rice at Japan's supermarkets right now
In recent weeks, store shelves have often been barren, with many shops displaying signs asking purchasers to stick to one bag per person.
An ambulance is parked at the entrance of the emergency room of Saitama Hospital in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, on July 24.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Boiling Point
Aug 20, 2024
How Japan's health care system is gearing up for more heatstroke cases
Rising heatstroke cases are weighing on the nation’s health care system, which is already wrestling with the growing burden of a rapidly aging population.
The parliament building in Tokyo. With concerns about summer heat rising and many elections taking place in summertime, it may not be tenable to conduct campaigns as in the past given health risks to candidates, their staff and voters.
JAPAN / Politics / Boiling Point
Aug 17, 2024
Hotter summers pose a threat to Japan's tradition of stump speeches
Balancing health concerns with legal restrictions as well as candidates' desire to be as publicly visible as possible, even in super hot weather, might be tricky.

Longform

Wozme, founded by dancer and choreographer Wakaba Kohei, is composed of Kana Kitty, Ami Ishii, Akane Watanabe and Natsuki. Its aim is to inject elegance and beauty, traits traditionally associated with femininity, into the sometimes grotesque art form of butoh dance.
Wozme, an all-women dance troupe, wants to move the needle in butoh