The Japan Meteorological Agency, or JMA, reported Friday the summer months of June through August of 2023 were the hottest recorded since 1898.
In a release, the agency said that based on observations at 15 locations around the country, the average temperature was 1.76 degrees C above normal, greatly exceeding the previous record of 1.08 degrees above normal recorded in 2010, and the highest since they began keeping statistics in 1898.
The agency said that in many locations, such as the city of Itoigawa, Niigata Prefecture, "not only maximum temperatures but also minimum temperatures reached record highs." The city recorded a low of 31.4 degrees (88.5 F) August 10, giving it the highest daily minimum temperature in all of Japan.
The JMA said the average temperatures were considerably higher in the northern, eastern and western parts of the country.
The Japan Times cited the agency as saying that compared with previous years of particularly high average summer temperatures (2010, 2013, 2018 and 2022), the number of extremely hot days increased significantly from late July onward, reaching the highest total since 2010.
The news outlet reported that July was already officially Japan's warmest in 100 years, with at least 53 people dying of heatstroke and almost 50,000 needing emergency medical attention.
Some information in this report came from Reuters.
