Photo/Illutration Pedestrians exposed to the blazing sun in Tokyo’s Ginza district on July 7 (Koichi Ueda)

Authorities said 123 mostly elderly people living in metropolitan Tokyo died of heatstroke in July and that 98 percent of the cases occurred indoors.

The fatalities across the capital’s 23 wards were announced by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Medical Examiner's Office.

This figure marked an increase of 28 from the same period last year. It was also the first time in six years since 2018 for the number of fatalities from heatstroke in July to exceed 100.

Emergency ambulance dispatches also were up sharply.

Authorities said 121 of the deaths occurred indoors. They found that 79 of the victims had air conditioners but were not using them at the time.

Twenty-eight people were without air conditioning, and 14 were using air conditioning.

By age group, one fatality involved a person in their 40s; four in their 50s; 12 in their 60s; 41 in their 70s; 44 in their 80s; and 21 in their 90s or older.

Preliminary figures issued by the Tokyo Fire Department showed that 3,647 emergency calls were made from July 1 to July 28 to take patients with suspected heatstroke to hospitals, an increase of 573 from the same period last year.

The total number of emergency ambulance dispatches in July came to 91,614, an increase of 2,592 from the same period last year. This was the highest monthly number ever.

As of the end of July, officials said said ambulances had been dispatched in 542,256 cases this year, an increase of 22,796 from the same period last year.

The number of cases is increasing at a faster pace than last year, which was also a record, they added.

According to the department, 176 people were rushed to hospitals on July 29, when the mercury in central Tokyo hit 37.3 degrees, making it the hottest day that month.

Shortly after midday, a man in his 70s was found collapsed in a passageway at a train station in Tokyo’s Taito Ward and rushed to a hospital with symptoms of severe heatstroke.

Around 3 p.m., a man in his 60s was found collapsed inside an apartment building in Adachi Ward and taken to hospital with symptoms of severe heatstroke.

“The more ambulances are dispatched, the slower they arrive at the scene. So please refrain from calling emergency unnecessarily,” a department official said. “But if it is an emergency, do not hesitate to call an ambulance.”

Authorities are urging people to take obvious precautions such as using fans and air conditioning indoors as well as drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated. 

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