Saturday 02 / August / 2025
Tokyo: People in Japan experienced their hottest July on record this year, with no respite in sight for some.
Officials warn that the northern and western regions of the country will continue to see "severe heat" in August.
Japan's average monthly temperature in July was 2.89 degrees Celsius higher than the 1991-2020 average for the same month, the nation's meteorological agency said on Friday.
On July 30, Japan experienced its highest ever recorded temperature — 41.2 Celsius (106.2 Fahrenheit) in the western region of Hyogo.
Early end to rainy season
This is the third record-breaking July Japan has seen. The average monthly temperature reached new heights in 2023, 2024, and now in 2025.
This July is the warmest since the Japan Meteorological Agency began recording data in 1898.
Japan's north and west also saw lower than average rainfall last month. The rainy season ended three weeks earlier than usual in western Japan, creating another unwanted record.
Heat affecting cherry blossoms
On Friday, the agency predicted more rainy and cloudy days in the first half of August, but more sunny days later in the month.
"Please pay attention to temperature forecasts and heatstroke warning alerts, and take appropriate measures to prevent heatstroke. In areas with less precipitation, please be careful to manage your water," the agency's press release warned.
The average temperature for June to August is "likely to require the record, too," Yoshinori Oikawa, head of the weather agency's Center for Information on Climate Extremes said, as reported by Japan Times.
Experts have warned that Japan's famous cherry trees are blooming earlier than usual or not blooming completely due to this shift in weather caused by human-driven climate change. The winters are not long or cold enough to trigger flowering.
