Well the heat wave may be over in Europe but it has found its way to Japan now. If Wikipedia is right 6 died in the European heatwave at the end of July. Up to 57 dead here in Japan as of now. Currently where I am at it is 37c but with humidity included the heat index is actually 46c (115F). Being from California I'd take a dry 115F over this weather we have here.
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57 dead and 18,000 taken to hospitals in one week amid Japan heat wave
- Thread starter Wubby
- Start date
Yay just in time to be here for a Typhoon thats on the way
And Comiket is around the corner. I don't want the dead count to go up after the first death in the last comiket.
I was once in Tokyo in April/May, and I was already sweating like a pig. All the salarymen looked at me in disgust. I don't even wanna know what August is like.
I wonder what business men do. There's no way they're expected to have a stroke in theur suits right?
Every one that I've seen so far is just in a dress shirt without a blazer.
Its not that bad in Edogawa-ku, around 33 with a nice breeze. However, Monday's humidity was no joke. I honestly don't think people drink enough water here. Thats a major issue in this heat.
Spending more than three min in this weather and I'm sweating buckets. I had to physically run around today to catch a flight, which was pretty awful.
Humidity is the real killer on these heatwaves. It can be as high as 40+ but if it's dry, it can get kinda tolerable, but holy shit if it's 40+ plus humidity, that's when you simply want to lie on an ice cube or get inside an industrial freezer. Kids and elderly/sick people are always on my thoughts with this massive heatwaves.
Summer suits are amazing. The one I got actually feels cooler than a t-shirt to me lol.
It's fucking hot as hell here in Osaka. Not surprised some people are hospitalized.
Can't wait for a typhoon to cool things down for a few days.
Can't wait for a typhoon to cool things down for a few days.
You're based in Osaka too?
"Those age 65 and older accounted for 54.3 percent of the total. "
Winced irl I hope they have people taking care of them.
Stay safe Japan-Era
Winced irl I hope they have people taking care of them.
Stay safe Japan-Era
Yeah, I have been working and living in Osaka for almost 8 years.
As much as it's awful and real about global warming, I was in Tokyo 2 weeks ago, and noticed something pretty crazy - Japanese people wear a lot of long-sleeved clothing in the summers, like full-on suits and even sweater/skirt combos.
I don't know much about their dressing culture, but man, from July 22nd to the 28th, it was nasty humid in that city, more so than when i went to the Philippines later on. I was outside all the time, and I only wore sports shorts and a t-shirt, and i was sweating terribly, so I can't even imagine why anyone would be forced or choose to wear stuff like that. If it's a choice, then man, maybe Japan should put out a notice to dress lightly in the summertime heat, and pass something along the lines of people being allowed to go to work in their casual clothing and being able to bring their clothes to work and get dressed from there.
I dunno, it's something, and they definitely have similar procedures in Japan in terms of preparation and looking out for one-another's day-to-day health (exclusing the work culture, that is), so it doesn't sound extreme, imo.
I don't know much about their dressing culture, but man, from July 22nd to the 28th, it was nasty humid in that city, more so than when i went to the Philippines later on. I was outside all the time, and I only wore sports shorts and a t-shirt, and i was sweating terribly, so I can't even imagine why anyone would be forced or choose to wear stuff like that. If it's a choice, then man, maybe Japan should put out a notice to dress lightly in the summertime heat, and pass something along the lines of people being allowed to go to work in their casual clothing and being able to bring their clothes to work and get dressed from there.
I dunno, it's something, and they definitely have similar procedures in Japan in terms of preparation and looking out for one-another's day-to-day health (exclusing the work culture, that is), so it doesn't sound extreme, imo.
From personal experience, I can tell you this: they seem to lack sweat glands.
Bit late in posting this as I was gone for the holiday, but looks like another 23 are dead from the heat. Today is another scorcher．Currently 37c outside with humidity added heat index is 44c (111f). Inside my car I got a highest temp reading of 76c (169f).
How come every time Japan gets a heatwave people actually die? It was like that last year too.
I don't recall anyone dying from the heatwaves in Europe, for example. Might be wrong, but those numbers are pretty big. Japan, unlike Europe, is fully equipped with ACs and all that so it's a bit mind boggling.
I don't recall anyone dying from the heatwaves in Europe, for example. Might be wrong, but those numbers are pretty big. Japan, unlike Europe, is fully equipped with ACs and all that so it's a bit mind boggling.
You are very mistaken. In the 2003 European heat wave, about 70,000 people died. That makes it one of the worst natural disasters in Europe.
Yikes, that's horrifying.
Were there any deaths in the heatwave that happened last month though?
I feel for the old people. But almost all of the hospitalizations and deaths are preventable with a smidge of common sense.
Old people don't use much A/C. Of course it's harder for them to regulate their body temperatures. Most Japanese people don't sweat much anyways, and old people even less so. But they have also been told by commercials over the years to avoid using A/C in the summer. I haven't seen the commercial in a few years but it had a mother and daughter making snow cones and the daughter mentions that the snow cones are even more delicious when it's super hot, and the mother was like, "I think you're on to something." and it ended with a saying like "let's all hang out with a little heat". And even when they do turn it on, lots of places keep it at 27 or 28 degrees, which is essentially pointless.
Then there's the issue of how little water everyone here drinks, which another poster has already mentioned. Lots of people are walking around dehydrated, which is obviously dangerous.
And then there's the way people dress here. Cool biz is a pretty half assed effort in a lot of places, and my workplace doesn't even officially allow it. There are lots of idiots at my job who still come in with jackets and ties.
Then you've got schools inexplicably holding sports days in the summer months, and places like my school holding assemblies in the un-air conditioned gymnasium, cramming nearly 1,000 students in there and making them stand up for 20-30 minutes. We literally have teachers who walk around, waiting for students to pass out so we can hurry them along to the nurse's room.
It's just a perfect storm of 100% preventable idiocy.
Old people don't use much A/C. Of course it's harder for them to regulate their body temperatures. Most Japanese people don't sweat much anyways, and old people even less so. But they have also been told by commercials over the years to avoid using A/C in the summer. I haven't seen the commercial in a few years but it had a mother and daughter making snow cones and the daughter mentions that the snow cones are even more delicious when it's super hot, and the mother was like, "I think you're on to something." and it ended with a saying like "let's all hang out with a little heat". And even when they do turn it on, lots of places keep it at 27 or 28 degrees, which is essentially pointless.
Then there's the issue of how little water everyone here drinks, which another poster has already mentioned. Lots of people are walking around dehydrated, which is obviously dangerous.
And then there's the way people dress here. Cool biz is a pretty half assed effort in a lot of places, and my workplace doesn't even officially allow it. There are lots of idiots at my job who still come in with jackets and ties.
Then you've got schools inexplicably holding sports days in the summer months, and places like my school holding assemblies in the un-air conditioned gymnasium, cramming nearly 1,000 students in there and making them stand up for 20-30 minutes. We literally have teachers who walk around, waiting for students to pass out so we can hurry them along to the nurse's room.
It's just a perfect storm of 100% preventable idiocy.
From someone who moved from Phoenix to Yokohama... Treasure what you have, man.
The thermal sensation in Tokyo has been 45c on average every day.
I can't even imagine how is on the country side. The sad thing is that this country is full of elderly people who will suffer for this.
I can't even imagine how is on the country side. The sad thing is that this country is full of elderly people who will suffer for this.
The difference here, from what I understand, is that the European heatwave was a fluke and most people weren't equipped to handle it.
In Japan, they are equipped to deal with it yet choose not to. It's literally the same thing year after year after year. I grew up in Florida, which is just as hot and humid as Japan, and for much longer throughout the year. Yet you never hear about tens of thousands of Floridians being rushed to the hospital every year.
Weather is really being ruthless, it rained for 2 days this week and it made no difference. Hearing ambulances zipping by at some odd hours is really unsettling :/
Police dropped by earlier this week, to warn about some burglary going around the neighborhood. Just imagining elderly leaving some doors/windows open and getting fucked over by some shit-heel, fucking hell >:[
Police dropped by earlier this week, to warn about some burglary going around the neighborhood. Just imagining elderly leaving some doors/windows open and getting fucked over by some shit-heel, fucking hell >:[
Is the humidity sapping people of the water in their body through sweat? And then they dehydrate in the heat? Is that how?
I'm afraid this is gonna happen to my next door neighbors. They always leave their windows and doors open in the summer months.
Yeah, the high moisture content makes it so that our sweat can't evaporate, which would help cool us down. Our bodies then make more sweat, and a lot of important minerals and nutrients are lost through excessive perspiration, which then causes dehydration.
Not having or not using the air conditioner doesn't sound good...
I was archiving some stuff yesterday and, good grief, there were so many people swept away by waves and drowned in rivers this last week in Japan, from Chiba down to Aichi. Heatstroke is a killer but taking a plunge to escape the heat can be extremely dangerous too :(
Here in Osaka it's terrible too. I went hiking last Saturday (day after the typhoon), and it was alright though. I ended the hike in Arima (famous for their onsen) and the coffee shop owner told us the weather in the area is so nice they don't need ac. Dunno how true it is, but that day it was definitely quite nice, and going back to Osaka, it was hot and terrible there so hey..!
But yeah, this hit the elderly mostly, and given the current population, that's a very high percentage.
It'll just get worse and worse too.
This year didn't even really have a noticeable El Nino. If we get one next year though with those Olympics...