By TAKUYA MIYANO/ Staff Writer
July 26, 2023 at 18:56 JST
A pedestrian seeks respite from a portable fan while waiting at a traffic light in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward on July 18. (Wataru Sekita)
The intense summer heat is expected to continue until October, when temperatures nationwide will be higher than previously anticipated, the Japan Meteorological Agency said in a three-month forecast released July 25.
Forecasters are warning of high temperatures across a wide area and are calling for vigilance against heatstroke.
The forecast represents an adjustment to last month’s forecast. Among the revisions, northern Japan is warned of higher temperatures in August. So, too, are Okinawa Prefecture and the nearby Amami region.
Western Japan should brace for higher temperatures in September. Again, Okinawa and Amami regions will also face higher temperatures than previously forecast.
And in October, forecasters predict that all regions will experience higher temperatures than the yearly average.
The El Nino phenomenon is cited as the cause for the high temperatures. In the past, El Nino tended to cause cool summers in Japan.
But this year, it will make temperatures on the southern side of Japan higher combined with global warming and the Indian Ocean Dipole, which increases the formation of cumulonimbus clouds near the Philippines, the JMA said.
The hot air in the south is expected to bring high temperatures across Japan.
But farmers and others who need rain should rest assured that it will come.
The JMA said rainfall will be average or above average due to the increased likelihood of warm and moist air flowing toward Honshu.
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