Heatstroke kills 158 since late May

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Heatstroke has killed 158 people since late May, while 46,728 others were treated in hospitals during the same period, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.

Between Aug. 23 and Sunday, 5,358 people were treated at hospitals for heatstroke, and 13 died, according to a survey taken by the agency.

During the one-week period, those taken to hospitals for emergency treatment declined by about 4,000 from the preceding week. There were also three fewer deaths.

According to the Meteorological Agency, there were four extremely hot days in the Aug. 23-29 period on which the mercury rose to 35 C or higher at about 100 of 921 observation points nationwide. Such temperatures were recorded at more than 100 sites every day of the previous week.

Since Aug. 1, 26,616 people have been taken to hospitals by ambulance due to heatstroke, and 61 have died.

The number of such patients was four times higher than in August last year and deaths have risen 7.6-fold.

Temperatures this summer have tended to remain high due to low rainfall and the effects of high-pressure systems over the Pacific Ocean. The nation has sweltered under many more tropical nights than last year.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency has continued to warn people of high temperatures, as little relief is predicted for September.