National News Temperatures hit record highs as heat wave continues, over 400 hospitalized

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A heat wave continued to blanket Tokyo and its vicinity July 21, with the mercury in the capital remaining above 30 C overnight for the first time since 1951, when the Japan Meteorological Agency started collecting data.

In Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo, the mercury rose shortly after 1 p.m. to 40.4C, the second highest temperature in Japan after 40.8C recorded in Yamagata Prefecture in 1933. July 20's high was 39.9C.

Dry hot air swept into Kofu from mountains and stayed in the Kofu Basin, the agency said in explaining the high temperature in the area.

The temperature rose to 38.1C in Tokyo on July 21, slightly lower than 39.5C on July 20, a record in the area.

Thirty-nine people were taken to hospital July 21 due to heatstroke, the Tokyo Fire Department said, and 48 people were hospitalized in the capital July 20. A total of 431 people have been hospitalized from July 1 to July 21, the department said.

The overnight low of 30.1C was marked around 4:30 a.m. on July 21 in Tokyo, exceeding the previous record of 29.3C on Aug. 4, 1994, according to the agency. Nationwide, it matches the record-high overnight low marked in the city of Toyama, Toyama Prefecture, on July 31, 2000.

"The so-called 'heat island' phenomenon is probably one of the reasons why temperatures in Tokyo alone did not markedly decrease," a meteorological agency official said, referring to the phenomenon in which urban areas are hotter than rural areas due to concentrated development and massive energy consumption. (Kyodo)

関東地方で記録的猛暑続く

関東地方は20日、記録的な猛暑に見舞われ、東京都心では観測史上最高39.5度を記録した。東京消防庁によれば、7月に入ってから21日までに、熱中症などで400人以上が病院に収容された。

Shukan ST: July 30, 2004

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