Japan has recorded its first day above 40°C this year. As extreme heat becomes increasingly common, heatstroke, public cooling shelters, outdoor sports, and climate responsibility can no longer be treated as distant concerns.
Yesterday, Gujo City in Gifu Prefecture recorded Japan’s first officially designated “extreme heat day” of the year.
The maximum temperature was 40°C.
This was reportedly the first time anywhere in Japan that the temperature had reached 40°C since the Japan Meteorological Agency introduced the term kokushobi, or “extreme heat day,” for days with temperatures of 40°C or higher.
I seem to remember that one of my blogging friends lived somewhere high in the mountains of Gujo City.
I wonder whether she is all right.
I used to enjoy her beautiful photographs of flowers and her calm, matter-of-fact accounts of everyday life. But when the goo blog service was shut down, I lost track of her.
How much heat can the human body actually endure?
In severe heatstroke, the central nervous system, including the brain, may be damaged.
The damage is caused not only by the direct effects of high temperature, but also by a combination of dehydration, circulatory failure, inflammation, and coagulation abnormalities.
Under the microscope, neurons look long and slender, as though they might be able to tolerate a little heat.
Apparently, however, they are not as resilient as they look.
When core body temperature rises above 40°C and neurological symptoms appear, the condition is already life-threatening.
Seen in that light, an air temperature of 40°C is quite literally a threat to life.
During the extreme heat of July and August, national and local governments should open gymnasiums, libraries, and other public facilities, and increase the number of official cooling shelters.
There is little point in having such a system unless anyone who needs it can reliably use it when necessary.
School sports clubs also need to be reconsidered.
We no longer live in an age when students can play sports in the summer heat as we did more than forty years ago, when I devoted myself to basketball.
The intensity of the heat is different now.
There is no longer the occasional cool breeze we used to feel.
Even when the wind blows, it is hot.
Temperatures above 40°C also seem to be continuing across Europe.
The whole world is becoming chaotic.
It is now almost certain that the main cause of global warming is the greenhouse gases released by human activity.
That does not mean, however, that the problem is simple enough to solve by introducing climate policies at random.
Measures that require action at the national level must, of course, be carried out by national governments.
But there must also be things that each of us can do.
Extreme heat is becoming a serious problem not only for humanity, but for all forms of life.
If human beings caused global warming, then human beings must also deal with its consequences.
And every one of us must take part in that process.
We knew that days of extreme heat were coming.
There is little point in making a fuss only after they arrive.
This is no time for an endurance contest in the heat.
Extreme heat is not something to endure with pride, but a danger that demands preparation and action.
・・・
extreme heat day
A day on which the maximum temperature reaches 40°C or higher.
最高気温が40度以上となる日。日本では「酷暑日」と呼ばれる。
lose track of someone
To no longer know where someone is or what has happened to them.
人の所在や近況がわからなくなる、連絡が途絶える。
central nervous system
The brain and spinal cord, which control many functions of the body.
脳と脊髄からなり、身体の多くの機能を調節する中枢神経系。
circulatory failure
A condition in which blood cannot circulate adequately through the body.
血液が全身に十分に循環しない状態。循環不全。
coagulation abnormality
A disorder affecting the normal process of blood clotting.
血液凝固の仕組みに異常が生じた状態。凝固異常。
core body temperature
The temperature of the body’s internal organs rather than the skin.
皮膚表面ではなく、身体内部や臓器の温度。深部体温。
life-threatening
Serious enough to place a person’s life in danger.
生命を脅かすほど危険な。
cooling shelter
A public indoor place where people can escape dangerous heat.
危険な暑さを避けるために利用できる公共の涼しい施設。
matter-of-fact
Calm and straightforward, without showing strong emotion.
感情を強く交えず、淡々とした。
endurance contest
A situation in which people compete to see who can tolerate discomfort or hardship the longest.
不快さや苦しさを誰が最も長く耐えられるかを競うこと。がまん比べ。
#ExtremeHeat #HeatstrokePrevention #ClimateChange #CoolingShelters #pathologist
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