Okinawa records hottest September since 1946 as Japan swelters

TOKYO: Japan’s southern Okinawa region endured its hottest September since records began in 1946 according to the weather agency.

The Japan Meteorological Agency confirmed this milestone after the entire country experienced its warmest recorded summer.

Global temperatures have surged in recent years due to human-induced climate change creating increasingly erratic weather patterns.

Japan’s average summer temperature reached 2.36C above standard values making it the hottest since records started in 1898.

This marked the third consecutive summer of record high temperatures across Japan.

Preliminary data revealed over 100,000 people required hospital treatment for heatstroke this summer alone.

Japan’s cherry trees are blooming earlier or sometimes incompletely due to insufficiently cold autumns and winters.

Mount Fuji’s famous snow cap appeared latest ever recorded last year arriving in early November rather than early October. – AFP