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Japan recorded its first "cruelly hot day" after temperatures climbed past 40C in three cities, weeks after the national weather agency introduced the term to warn people about dangerous heat.
Tajimi and Gujo in Gifu prefecture in central Japan, reached 40.3C and 40C on Tuesday, while Toyota in neighbouring Aichi prefecture recorded 40.1C, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
For Gujo and Toyota, the readings were the highest ever taken at their weather stations.
The designation of cruelly hot day, “kokushobi” in Japanese, was coined in April for any day recording a temperature of 40C.
It sits above the category of “moshobi”, or extremely hot day, used for readings above 35C and takes its name from the character "koku", meaning harsh or cruel.
Heatstroke warnings were in place in more than 40 of Japan's 47 prefectures, with authorities advising people to use air conditioning, drink water, take salt, and avoid spending long periods outdoors.
Two men, one in his 70s in Odawara and another in his 40s in Sanjo in Niigata, were found collapsed in streets on Monday and later died in hospital. A woman in her 80s died of heatstroke in Mitsuke, also in Niigata, after care staff found her collapsed at her home on Tuesday.
Hospitals are under strain too. The Tokyo fire department said 287 people aged between three and 103 were taken to hospital in the capital on Tuesday with suspected heatstroke, the highest daily figure this year, the national broadcaster NHK reported. The department issued an alert on Wednesday warning that its ambulance service was overloaded.
Of Japan’s 914 observation points, 731 had recorded temperatures above 30C by mid-afternoon on Tuesday and 272 had passed the 35C threshold.
Nagoya reached 39.7C and Kumagaya, north of Tokyo, 38.6C.
The weather agency said that a high-pressure system had settled over much of the archipelago since Sunday, warming air at the surface as well as higher in the atmosphere. As a result, the agency added, temperatures would stay high from Wednesday onwards.
Extreme heat is becoming a regular feature of the Japanese summer as global average temperatures increase due to human activities like the burning of fossil fuels.
Japan's highest temperature of 41.8C was recorded last year at Isesaki, north of Tokyo.
The effects are felt at work and at home. The number of people who suffered heatstroke at the workplace reached a record 1,803 last year, the news agency Kyodo reported. At least 19 died.
Office workers in Tokyo are being encouraged to wear t-shirts, polo shirts, shorts and trainers instead of suits and ties, an extension of the long-running "Cool Biz" campaign, designed to cut electricity use by reducing reliance on air conditioning.
Heatwaves are growing more frequent and intense worldwide. The UK and Europe were struck by a record-breaking heatwave earlier this year, causing thousands of excess deaths and pushing medical services to their limits across Spain, Italy, and France.
Japan, where the elderly account for a large share of the population, is particularly vulnerable to heat illness.
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