Dina Mahmoud (Tokyo, London)
After a year during which unprecedentedly high temperatures were recorded in Japan, due to the “Southern Oscillation” phenomenon known as “El Niño” and the exacerbation of the consequences of “climate change” due to human activities, this country witnessed, over the past few weeks, the warmest month of April on record. Its type in its history, since the beginning of recording weather data. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the average temperature last month increased by 2.76 degrees Celsius above its usual average, which led to the Japanese experiencing what some described as “the warmest and hottest April” nationwide, since the agency began collecting statistics. On climate, in 1898, that is, approximately 126 years ago.
This rise heralds that the weather will become warmer than normal in Japan during the period between May and July of this year, which will make next summer more hot than the previous one in 2023. According to meteorologists in Tokyo, average temperatures rose in the summer of last year. 1.76 degrees Celsius higher than its counterpart recorded in the period from 1991 to 2020.
The El Niño phenomenon, to which a large part of the responsibility for these temperature increases in Japan and other countries is attributed, is a periodic shift witnessed by the ocean and atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific Ocean, every three or seven years, a shift that continues every time. From nine months to two years.
Over recent decades, the effects of climate change and El Niño have cast a shadow over weather conditions in Japan. In 1998, the Japan Meteorological Agency recorded the second highest average temperature during April, as it was then about 1.97 degrees Celsius higher than the average recorded during nearly thirty years, between 1991 and 2020.
While official data in Japan indicate that the period between 1898 and 2000 did not witness temperatures higher than average in April, other than rare cases, these hot climates have become more common since the second decade of the current century. As of 2015, it has become common for temperatures to be recorded higher than what was common before in that month.
At the same time, economic analysts say that the successive heat waves that Japan has witnessed recently have not been without benefits for some companies and commercial institutions. These waves led to a great popularity of innovative products that help cool the atmosphere, such as cooling wipes, small fans that can be carried in the hand, and others.
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