Monday, 12 August 2013

Environment

Heatwave kills four in Japan

A heatwave stifled Japan on Sunday as the temperature topped 40 degrees Celsius in two cities, leaving at least four people dead of heatstroke over the weekend.

The temperature reached 40.6 C in Kofu, 100 kilometres west of Tokyo, in mid-afternoon. The weather agency had warned early Sunday that the temperature would soar past 35 C in 39 of the country's 47 prefectures. It warned people to drink plenty of water and use air-conditioners. On Saturday, the mercury topped 40 C for the first time in Japan since August 2007, when it had reached an all-time high of 40.9 C in two separate cities.

The heatwave, also gripping parts of China, has been caused by a Pacific high pressure system covering most of the Japanese islands. In early July a heatwave in Japan claimed at least a dozen lives.

No comments:

Post a Comment