Japan Heat Wave: Dozens Dead, Thousands Hospitalized, Food Costs Expected To Rise

Japan continues to swelter under scorching summer temperatures which set new national records over the last two weeks, killing dozens of people.

The temperature hit 106 degrees Fahrenheit in Kumagaya on Monday, making it the country’s highest temperature on record. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, several locations in the country set record temperature Monday with 241 individual weather stations hitting over 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

Local daily Kyodo News reported that 77 heat-related deaths occurred in the last two weeks and more than 30,000 were hospitalized.

"This heat is a threat to life. We recognize it as a natural disaster,” Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Ambulances were dispatched around 3,125 times by Tokyo Fire Department on Sunday alone, making it its largest figure for a day since it started emergency services in 1936. As of Monday, 3,544 people were taken to hospitals by Tokyo's ambulances due to heat exhaustion or heatstroke.

Reuters reported that among the dead was a primary school boy who suffered heat stroke during a field trip. Nine school students watching a basketball game in Miyazaki were taken to hospital last week, with some in severe condition.

“AccuWeather estimates the death toll from Japan heat wave is likely already in the hundreds despite the official toll of somewhat more than two dozen, and we predict the number will climb into the thousands before the heat wave ends,” AccuWeather analyst Joel N. Myers said in a statement.

“The actual total human toll may not ever be known as heat-related fatality reports are historically underdone since not all deaths are correctly attributed to heat and some result from accelerating serious health issues and the fatalities show up weeks later,” he added.

"There is a chance that high temperatures will continue until the beginning of August," Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

The soaring temperatures have raised questions about the safety of athletes and spectators during the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which will be held in the months of July and August. Olympic organizers are looking at ways to beat the heat.

"We are mindful that we do have to prepare for extreme heat. You're not the first country to host the games in extreme heat. It's a natural consequence of being in July and August," John Coates, the head of an International Olympic Committee inspection team, said.

Japan Meteorological Agency has advised people to drink lots of water, stay away from direct sunlight and use air conditioners.

With the increase in temperature, the production of grains and rice will suffer, thus increasing the cost of food.

“The rule of thumb used by crop ecologists is that for each 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature above the optimum we can expect a reduction in grain yields of 10 percent,” agronomist Lester Brown said, Time reported.

“Episodes of extreme temperature drive increases in food prices. There’s a clear causal relationship between climate and food prices and crop yields. Drought and temperature are correlated. However, more than drought, it’s actually episodes of extreme temperature which result in higher food prices,” Dr. Marc F. Bellemare, assistant professor at Duke University, said. “The more days you have temperatures above 28 degrees C (82 degrees F), the worse you can expect crops to fare, which increases food prices.”