Tokyo: This month will likely be the
hottest August that Japan has experienced since 1946 when
regional temperature data become available after the end of
World War II, weather agency officials said, while linking it
with global warming.
Under the Japan Meteorological Agency's zoning of the
nation into four regions, all but one covering the
southwestern island chains of Amami and Okinawa are expected
to log record-high average monthly temperatures, according to
a preliminary report based on 29-day data through Sunday.
Also, 84 of the 154 nationwide meteorological
observatories will likely see their highest monthly averages,
including figures that tie past records, according to the
agency's data collected until Thursday.
The agency said the record heat might be attributable to
a long-term trend of global warming, as well as high
atmospheric pressures from the Pacific Ocean and continental
Asia.
The temperatures exceeded the average year by 2.6 degC in
northern Japan, a zone covering Hokkaido and Tohoku, 2.2 degC
in eastern Japan that ranges from Kanto-Koshin to Tokai, and
2.1 degC in western Japan stretching to Kyushu.
Of the nation's major cities where monthly averages rose
to their highest on record, Kyoto saw 30.0 degC, Osaka 30.4
degC, Hiroshima 30.3 degC and Fukuoka 30.4 degC.
In Tokyo, the average temperature was 2.4 degC higher
than the typical year at 29.5 degC, according to the agency.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 15:54