NHK



 

Extremely hot weather hit wide areas in Japan from the Kyushu to Hokuriku regions on Monday. Weather officials say people should continue to stay alert for heatstroke on Tuesday.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said temperatures rose across the nation on Monday as warm air moved in under the influence of a high pressure system.

Daytime highs reached 35 degrees Celsius or higher at 22 locations across Japan. They include 36.5 degrees in Saijo City, Ehime Prefecture, 36.2 in Tokushima City, 36.1 in Kumano City, Mie Prefecture and 36 in Nobeoka City, Miyazaki Prefecture. The figure at Tokushima City marked its highest temperature for June since the agency began record-taking in 1891.

Many other locations registered temperatures of 30 degrees or higher, including 33.6 in Osaka City, 33.5 in Nagoya City and 31.6 in central Tokyo.
The officials say the flow of warm air is expected to continue on Tuesday, pushing up temperatures again from the Chugoku through Kanto-Koshin regions.

Daytime highs are expected to reach 36 degrees in Kumagaya and Maebashi cities, north of Tokyo, 35 in Nagoya City, and 34 in central Tokyo. Osaka and Fukuoka cities are forecast to hit 33.

The agency also says the passage of a front will cause unstable atmospheric conditions. This may bring localized heavy rain with thunder on Tuesday morning in western Japan, and through the afternoon to late night in eastern Japan.

The officials are calling on people to be alert for lightning strikes and violent gusts such as tornados, as well as localized heavy rain.