Japan Sizzles to All-Time National Record High

By: Nick Wiltgen

Published: August 12,2013

 

 

 

 

 

People pack a mammoth pool at Toshimaen amusement park in Tokyo, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2013. A heat wave continues across Japan as temperatures soared up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Tokyo while other parts of the country hit 104 degrees, according to the Meteorological Agency. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

An exceptional heat wave toppled all-time records in Japan Sunday as brutally hot air expanded from China across the sea into the island nation.
A new all-time national record high was reached Sunday at the Ekawasaki weather observation station in Shimanto city, Kochi Prefecture, on the southwestern Japanese island of Shikoku. The temperature there surged to 41.0ºC (105.8ºF) at 1:42 p.m. local time, breaking country's previous record of 40.9ºC (105.6ºF) set at Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture (near Tokyo) and at Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture in central Japan, both on August 16, 2007.

Current Conditions

Note: Shanghai is 12 hours ahead of U.S. East Coast time, and Tokyo is 13 hours ahead.

• Tokyo, 13

  
  82^°F
  Mostly Cloudy

• Shanghai, SG

  
  88^°F
  Fair

See If My City Is Impacted

Tokyo also rewrote its record books Sunday as the temperature dipped no lower than 30.4ºC (86.7ºF), establishing a new record for the city's warmest low temperature in modern history. The previous record of 29.6ºC (85.3ºF) was set July 21, 2004. The Japanese capital has kept weather records for 138 years, dating back to the Meiji Restoration when Japan opened its doors to Western trade and industrial advances.
Much of Japan has been sweltering under excessive heat for the past week, as a broiling air mass over east-central and southeast China moved across the East China Sea into the country. The northern edge of the heat has been marked by severe storms that produced deadly floods and mudslides Friday.
China itself has been dealing with the brutal heat for much longer. As of Monday, Shanghai had recorded 29 consecutive days at or above 35ºC (95ºF) as of Monday; 19 of those have topped 100ºF. The Chinese port city reached an all-time record high of 40.8ºC (105.4ºF) on Aug. 7, and some nearby cities have exceeded 110ºF.
MORE: China Heat Wave, July-August 2013

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Hengyang, China

Rescuers save a man who fainted after climbing onto a crane tower with the intention to commit suicide, in Hengyang, central China's Hunan province on July 31, 2013. The man fainted shortly after he climbed onto the tower due to triple-digit temperatures. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)