Japan's record heat in July 'almost impossible' without climate change
The extreme heat felt across Japan in July was "almost impossible" without global warming, a joint analysis by the Meteorological Agency and the education ministry has found.
In addition, the heavy rainfall that caused severe floods in northern Japan later that same month, mostly in Yamagata and Akita prefectures, was also exacerbated by climate change, the researchers said in a report released earlier this week, using the “event attribution” method.
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The researchers concluded that the warming-induced rise in temperatures and the resulting surge in water vapor increased the volume of rain in Akita and Yamagata by 20% or more.
This year’s summer months of June through August were hotter than usual, resulting in record temperatures in July, a trend that continued in western Japan last month.
On July 29, for example, the mercury hit 41.0 degrees Celsius in the city of Sano, Tochigi Prefecture, nearly tying with a record high of 41.1 C logged in the city of Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, on July 23, 2018, and the city of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Aug. 17, 2020.
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