That aside, tile floors are a godsend on a hot day. Then again, it's sweltering this season in Japan. I even heard that some of my fellow countrymen (we live in a country where it's usually hovering around 30C year round) even fainted from heatstroke over there.
Seriously, Japan? Why is it that you're facing 40C weather now of all things? Isn't this supposed to be typhoon season?
People have died from the heat (most famously an elementary school child, who got hyperthermia during a field trip); Japan's infrastructure isn't set up for consistent temperatures the likes of which we've been facing.
And yes, the temperature is higher in other countries - but a. the people are more used to it, and b. everything is set up to cope with those temperatures - neither of which Japan really is.
The typhoon season is the rainy season, which is June - it's very much a dry heat now.
That's curious. What do you mean Japan's infrastructure can't handle it?
To show the simplest example - schools are not uniformly equipped with air conditioning, bar the offices - so a student who overheats (and since, currently, they are not allowed to drink water outside of breaks) has no recourse but to decamp to the sick bay to cool down.
Older Japanese houses are also made entirely around passive cooling, but when temperatures get high enough, and without enough wind, it gets hot enough to cause heat stroke to the very young and old - hospitalisation rates for heat stroke are higher than ever.
In the larger sphere too, as these kinds of temperatures are new (thanks to climate change), people are unused to it - they're not hydrating properly, not limiting their amount of time in direct sunlight, going outside during the hottest times of the day, etc; for many people, they've never had to consider these things, because while summers have been getting steadily hotter, it's been especially bad this year.
The actual power infrastructure can handle the extra aircon/fan/dehumidifier load though, that's not an issue.
To show the simplest example - schools are not uniformly equipped with air conditioning, bar the offices - so a student who overheats (and since, currently, they are not allowed to drink water outside of breaks) has no recourse but to decamp to the sick bay to cool down.
This is less "it's too hot" then "Japanese people are being silly" then. Barring some outlier medical cases if you drink sufficient fluids you can tolerate basically any temperature found on earth. You evolved on African Savannah after all. A nonsensical culture inclination not to take steps to elevate discomfort or even protect your health out of some misguided inclination to endure things without compliant isn't the same as their being a fundamental issue.
Every summer we get a few dopes at work that fall out in a trailer or on the floor, but you invariably find out afterward that the twit hadn't drunk anything all day, came to work, and STILL wasn't drinking as he worked in a 30c+ warehouse for hours. Most of the ones that actually drop also know they're feeling sick, but don't say anything out of similiar misguided feelings of not wanting to appear 'weak' or a 'complainer'.
Older Japanese houses are also made entirely around passive cooling, but when temperatures get high enough, and without enough wind, it gets hot enough to cause heat stroke to the very young and old - hospitalisation rates for heat stroke are higher than ever.
While heat stroke is a greater risk among those two groups, it's also likely many of those cases involve insufficient fluid intake or an inability to move to a better location, either due to limited mobility in the later case or inability or unawareness of the need the former.
In the larger sphere too, as these kinds of temperatures are new (thanks to climate change), people are unused to it
Climate change has not produced huge increases in temperature at this time, yes it exists, but the current increase of average temperature is about 0.8c since the late 1800s. The effect overall is still fairly subtle (hence how people can ignore or deny it), the problem comes in with the fact subtle changes can have major impacts in various ways, but in terms of the direct danger of heat related illness a .8c average temperature increase is not likely to change things much. There were hotter and cooler summers in the past, though the trend has clearly been toward the higher range particularly in the last decade, the fact remains that the 'new records' being set tend still be less then a degree over old ones.
- they're not hydrating properly, not limiting their amount of time in direct sunlight, going outside during the hottest times of the day, etc; for many people, they've never had to consider these things, because while summers have been getting steadily hotter, it's been especially bad this year.
They avergae overall for the last few years is not markedly different then historical and hotter or cooler summers have occurred in the past, if they haven't done these things in the past it's likely a cultural stubbornness or willful ignorance of what classifies as "hot enough to take precautions" rather then some actual unprecedented and marked increase in temperature.
Oh, it's almost entirely down to stubbornness; and it's more due to (what's being reported as, at any rate) greater-than-normal peaks this year, not a marked increase in average temperatures across the board. The JMA historical data for July also shows closer to 1.6 degrees increase since 1890 (I'll admit, using a linear trendline) for where I live, Kumamoto - but if you look at the mean minimum temperature, that jumps to almost 3 degrees - so perhaps it's not that the temperatures are straight hotter - but that the people are just getting more heat smashed into them over a day than. Looking at annualised temperatures isn't ideal in this case (if that's where the 0.8 came from)
At any rate, regardless of the actual weather, there have been more heat-related incidents this year than previous (again, as reported in the media, I can't actually vouch for the accuracy of their statements); the Japanese government (both local and national) need to do more active informing of residents of how to act in high temperatures.
A nonsensical culture inclination not to take steps to elevate discomfort or even protect your health out of some misguided inclination to endure things without complaint isn't the same as there being a fundamental issue.
No, that is a fundamental issue - not one of biology, but one of culture.
EDIT: hottest summer on record since 1880, so gradual temperature change is a moot point - it's hotter than what people are used to, but they're nit changing their actions (through ingorance or stubbornness) to account for it.
That aside, tile floors are a godsend on a hot day. Then again, it's sweltering this season in Japan. I even heard that some of my fellow countrymen (we live in a country where it's usually hovering around 30C year round) even fainted from heatstroke over there.
Seriously, Japan? Why is it that you're facing 40C weather now of all things? Isn't this supposed to be typhoon season?
The only Typhoon season around the asia is Philippines( Where i live) Thank god that super typhoon didn't hit us again.....
Ah...You can do that!?AQUILA!?Calm down, Graf!Nah, you can't.Uuhh...She's been pretty much like this from the get-go.The heat got to her head...Did you eat something weird off the ground again!?The floor... is so lovely and cold...No.Ahh...Seems that the Russian ships decided to run the aircon on full blast and have some kotatsu-icecream. Poor thing...W-W-W-What happened!?
