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Tag - heat-waves

 
 

HEAT WAVES

The summer heat hits Ginza, Tokyo, on Thursday. According to the Tokyo Fire Department, 453 people were transported to hospitals due to heatstroke on Wednesday alone.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jul 23, 2026
As Japan bakes, over 10,000 rushed to hospital for heatstroke in a week
Some 10,857 people were transported by ambulance from July 13 through July 19, more than double the same period last year.
A combine harvester reaps a field of wheat early in the season due to France's current and late June heat wave in Marly-lez-Valenciennes, northern France, on July 7.
WORLD
Jul 23, 2026
Heat and war deal Europe¡¯s grain harvest biggest blow in decades
High temperatures are expected to cut the region¡¯s corn crop to the smallest in 19 years, as the Middle East conflict conflict has pushed up fuel and fertilizer costs.
A rickshaw puller drinks a bottle of barley tea in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture.
BUSINESS
Jul 22, 2026
Japan¡¯s electricity price hits highest in over three years on triple blow
With a triple whammy of blistering heat, yen weakness and escalating fuel costs, the nationwide day-ahead spot price surged to ?24.78 a kilowatt-hour on Wednesday.
Japan has experienced increasingly ?severe summers in recent years, with ?the ?country recording its all-time high temperature of 41.8 degrees Celsius last year.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jul 22, 2026
Japan swelters as weather breaks ¡®brutally hot¡¯ threshold
The weather ?agency issued heat stroke ?alerts for much of the country, forecasting a second straight day of ¡°kokushobi¡± ¡ª literally ?meaning brutally hot day.
Amid the heat and humidity in Japan, a good night¡¯s sleep is growing increasingly elusive without the heavy use of air conditioning.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Jul 19, 2026
Summer has arrived in Japan and so have hot sleepless nights
Around the world, human-induced climate change is at least partly to blame for a growing sleep deficit.
A woman wearing a kimono performs an uchimizu ritual in Tokyo. The splashing of water onto the hot asphalt in summer is an old Japanese tradition meant to cool down the air as the water evaporates.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 18, 2026
To stay cool, wear flowing robes and throw water around? Yes, says science.
Long before air conditioning, people around the world came up with ingenious ways to beat the heat.
Smoke from wildfires in Canada shrouds the Manhattan skyline in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 17, 2026
Heat and wildfire smoke become a dangerous new climate reality
High temperatures alone are dangerous, as is inhaling polluted air. The harm from each individually can be magnified when people experience both together.
A plane taxis across a wet runway at Oslo Airport on Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 16, 2026
Drones, AI and white paint: Europe races to protect infrastructure from heat
Europe is having to adapt to rising temperatures that are stoking wildfires, causing thousands of excess deaths and putting infrastructure under growing pressure.
The finale of the Saga Joka Sakae no Kuni Matsuri festival in the city of Saga on May 24
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Jul 15, 2026
Organizers reschedule summer events to dodge extreme heat and heavy rain
Summer festivals and fireworks shows that used to be held in July or August have either been brought forward or pushed back.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials wear shorts, T-shirts and sneakers at work on Tuesday as part of the capital's Cool Biz initiative.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jul 15, 2026
Too hot: Buttoned-up Tokyo officials ditch suits for ¡®cool¡¯ shorts
The loosening of a strict dress code comes as Japanese offices cut reliance on air conditioning due to high energy costs linked to the Middle East war.
A firefighting aircraft works to contain wildfires at the Fontainebleau forest, in Acheres-la-Foret, amid a heat wave affecting large parts of France on Sunday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 14, 2026
Wildfires ravage over 1,300 hectares of historic forest near Paris
Police have arrested two people on suspicions of arson over the fire that erupted Sunday in the sprawling Fontainebleau forest, a former royal hunting estate.
A quality inspector taps wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for hidden flaws at Credito Emiliano's cheese-backed lending facility, where recent heat waves have pushed daily power use up about 30%, in Montecavolo di Quattro Castella, Italy, on July 6.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 13, 2026
Extreme heat threatens Italy¡¯s Parmigiano-Reggiano heartland
In the heat, cows spend more time lying down, eat less and produce up to 10% less milk, one of Parmigiano-Reggiano¡¯s ?only three ingredients alongside salt and rennet.
As heat grips Japan, authorities are urging residents to use air conditioning, avoid unnecessary outdoor activity and drink fluids before feeling thirsty.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jul 13, 2026
Extreme heat grips Japan with potential double storm brewing
Heatstroke alerts have been issued for 14 prefectures, while the country continues to face unsettled weather linked to Tropical Storm Bavi.
Yuji Suzuki (background) and others set up "green curtains" at temporary housing for people affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake, in the city of Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, in August last year.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Jul 13, 2026
¡®Green curtains¡¯ take root as communities seek out eco-friendly sun protection
Such curtains ¡ª which involve growing vines such as bitter melon and morning glory near windows ¡ª leverage on plant physiology to cool down homes.
A person shelters under an umbrella in front of the Sacre Coeur Basilica during a heat wave in Paris on Sunday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 13, 2026
Europe recorded 10,000 excess deaths during late-June heat wave, data shows
The vast majority of heat-related fatalities ¡ª more than 9,000 ¡ª were among people aged 65 and above.
A woman uses a fan to shelter from the sun on a street in Seoul on Sunday.
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 12, 2026
South Korea issues first emergency heatwave warning under new rating system
The new warning system was introduced to better deal with a rising number of heatwaves in South Korea, which have become longer and more intense, officials said.
This handout photo released by the Military Emergency Unit (UME) on Friday shows firefighters working on a wildfire that killed 11 near Bedar in Los Gallardos.
WORLD
Jul 10, 2026
Eleven dead, 19 missing as Spain wildfire roars through village
Authorities said many of the victims might be foreign tourists but that they were still confirming their identities.
A view of the dried up Loire River in France on Thursday amid a heat wave affecting a large part of the country.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 10, 2026
Climate models become more precise even as political attacks sharpen
Climate researchers have operated under political duress for decades, but improved resources and understanding in recent years have made findings more useful to policymakers.
Floodwater from the Russian River approaches homes following a chain of winter storms, in Guerneville, California, in January 2023.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 10, 2026
Strengthening El Nino likely to ¡®rank among largest¡¯ on record, U.S. agency says
The weather pattern picked up strength over the past month and will peak between October and December.
A woman uses an umbrella to protect herself from the sun during a heat wave in Valencia, Spain, on Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 8, 2026
Europe¡¯s third major heat wave raises grid and water risks
The latest spell of hot weather is being driven by a high-pressure heat dome, similar to the one that shattered records across much of the continent last month.

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon

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