Japan's record heat in July 'almost impossible' without climate change
The extreme heat felt across Japan in July was "almost impossible" without global warming, a joint analysis by the Meteorological Agency and the education ministry has found.
In addition, the heavy rainfall that caused severe floods in northern Japan later that same month, mostly in Yamagata and Akita prefectures, was also exacerbated by climate change, the researchers said in a report released earlier this week, using the “event attribution” method.
Event attribution is a relatively new field of study, in which scientists calculate the role climate change plays in extreme weather events by creating simulations that compare current climate conditions to a world free of greenhouse gas emissions.
The researchers concluded that the warming-induced rise in temperatures and the resulting surge in water vapor increased the volume of rain in Akita and Yamagata by 20% or more.
This year’s summer months of June through August were hotter than usual, resulting in record temperatures in July, a trend that continued in western Japan last month.
