Photo/Illutration A mist shower provides relief in the Ginza district of Tokyo's Chuo Ward at 1:48 p.m. on July 23. (Shota Tomonaga)

The Environment Ministry and other ministries met on July 23 to discuss countermeasures to prevent the increasing rise in heatstroke cases as temperatures climb amid the high humidity.

It was announced that 363 heatstroke alerts have been issued as of July 21, nearly double the 195 during the same period last year.

Heatstroke alerts are made in high-risk regions when spikes in temperature, humidity and intense sunlight, among other factors, occur. 

"The end of rainy season was announced one after another for each region and many elementary and middle schools started their summer vacations," said Shintaro Ito, environment minister, calling on other ministries to strengthen countermeasures. "As we approach the peak of summer, we have entered a stretch where we need to be more cautious about heatstroke."  

Emergency response and hospital visits are also occurring more frequently than last year.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the internal affairs ministry said as of July 21, 34,547 individuals were transported by ambulance to hospitals for heatstroke. This is up 3,045 compared to records from the same time frame in 2023.

Elderly people accounted for 58.6 percent and 38.7 percent of those cases occurred at their residence.

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