Japan just experienced its hottest July since national records began in 1898. Last week, Japan had an average temperature of 40 degrees Celsius, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported, marking the country’s hottest month ever recorded. The agency went on to warn Americans of the possibility of additional extreme heat in August and beyond.
It turns out that all those extreme temps during July were not one-off events. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), this June saw the highest recorded increase in average monthly temperature ever. It flew a staggering 2.89 degrees Celsius above the average from 1991 to 2020. This is the third year in a row that Japan has witnessed record-breaking July temperatures.
Just last week, on July 30, Japan recorded an alarming all-time temperature of 41.2 degrees Celsius in Japan’s westernmost region of Hyogo. Indeed, this unprecedented heat is just a symptom of the extensive heat wave enveloping much of the country right now. Along with these record high temperatures, Japan was experiencing some of the lowest precipitation amounts ever recorded during this time of year.
Regional Climate Impacts
Japan’s northern prefectures, particularly those along the country’s western coast bordering the Sea of Japan, experienced all-time historic lows in July precipitation. The absence of any significant precipitation poses an even more dire threat to Utah’s water future. Farmers rely on regular, predictable rainfall to maintain the health and productivity of their crops. In Japan, the rainy season ended roughly three weeks ahead of schedule across western prefectures. This rare event piles onto the deepening stack of climate-adapted record-breaking events across the country.
This lack of rain compounded by persistent periods of extreme heat has already taken a visible toll on Japan’s environment. Last summer, even Mount Fuji’s iconic snowcap vanished for an exceptionally long period of time. It eventually returned in early November, weeks later than its typical early October return. This practice change sheds light on long-standing climate adaptations that affect tourism, but ecosystems that depend on predictable seasonal rhythms.
Effects on Flora and Fauna
Impacts of increasing temperatures go further than just the heat intolerable to humans and impacts on crops. Japan’s famous cherry trees, for instance, are blooming two weeks earlier, warming conditions are throwing them out of sync. These trees need cold autumns and winters in order to promote their spring blooms. Warmer winters interrupted this butterfly’s natural cycle leading to abandoned and incomplete flowering.
Human-caused climate change is responsible for more frequent, more intense heat waves currently plaguing Japan. This is indicative of a troubling global trend that we must no longer turn a blind eye to. As these changes settle into place, they threaten tremendous harm to biodiversity, sustainable farming practices, and agricultural innovation across the country.