I come from a tropical region where the temperatures range from 34C in the afternoon and 23C at night, every day, and we don’t have the 4 seasons. So, this is my first ever seasonal summer, and I’ve been told this is not yet “peak summer”.
Also, is the rainy season this year a bit drier than usual? I’ve heard stories of week-long rains, but I haven’t experienced any yet.
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We kinda bypassed the “rainy season” this yet, according to meteorologists on TV, and we’re just into “find the shade when you’re walking outside” weather, which may last until… well… winter.
It’s a very odd year. In the Kanto area, we usually have the rainy season from mid June to around the week of July 20, so the rainy season ending *in* June is crazy.
Rainy season used to be some gentle misty rain for the first half, then stronger more intermittent showers as we move toward summer. Climate change seems to have made it more intermittent showery from the start over the past decade.
Anyway we’re in new territory here, your guess is as good as mine on how the summer will be. Personally I suspect the fall mini-monsoon (aki-same) might push earlier and hit us sometime in August.
Seems like we mostly skipped monsoon season and into Atsui, ne… season already. Though at least here in Fukuoka the 10 day forecast is saying rain for a week from Sunday onward.
Last year’s monsoon hit really early. It’s really just be a bit of a mess these last couple of years. Just carry an umbrella and keep the Pocari close by.
Not normal, highest June temps since 1875, rainy-season cut short by almost 3 weeks.
>[Japan swelters in its worst heatwave ever recorded](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-61976937)
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>*Japan is sweltering under the hottest day yet of its worst heatwave since records began in 1875… Heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change.*
Basically no, it’s not usual
Nope, 7 years here and rainy season has never been this short
No, but it will be
Every year is different. This year it got hotter in a shorter period of time than usual, very little ramp up.
Rainy Season is a bit of a joke in Japan IMO. It often rains far more before or after rainy season than during what gets declared as rainy season. We could easily end up with a lot of rain in July.
As for heat, the peak is usually end of July and into August.
Last year it was the opposite, the rain didn’t stop until August and we missed out on most of the summer heat. The year before that (or maybe it was two years ago, can’t remember) we had a 6 week stretch in July-August without a drop of rain and everything got extremely dried out, to the point that trees and bushes in my neighborhood started dying. Its very topsy-turvy these days.
Some parts of the country are in a bit of trouble since it didn’t rain enough and their reservoirs aren’t full. Fortunately it looks like rain is in the forecast next week so hopefully that’ll help.
The scary thing is, without a decent rainy season the reservoirs will get low leading to more water restrictions.
The weather is fucked. Typhoon season is likely to be really rough this year as well.
As an Aussie, I find Japan’s humidity the big thing (Australia’s the hottest place on earth, but can be easier than Japanese summers IMO… unless you’re in the far north or something).
Not sure what the records book says, but Japanese summers are generally quite draining (even if the temperature isn’t above 40’C) because you drown in your own sweat. Mushiatsui!!!
No. I:ve been here for many years. This summer is brutal.
Glad Prime Minister Kishida got rid of rainy season. very smart
Thank you fossil fuel companies for destabilizing the climate
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There’s an “El Nina” phenomenon this year.
From my understanding, Tokyo and the surrounding area is experiencing a heat dome similar to the PNW of Canada and the US did last year. So what’s currently going on is outside the norm, even as a product of climate change.
Pretty sure it’s a record heat wave
Temperature-wise, it’s unusual.
That said, it’s an unusually dry heat. It will feel much worse when the July/August humidity arrives:)
This is unusually hot for June. Its usually cooler and rainier right now, and it looks like it will be again next week. This is just a heat wave being caused by La Niña.
I’ve lived here 20 years. To be honest, the “rainy season” has always been a crap shoot; half the time it lives up to its name and half the time it’s pretty much unnoticeable.
This year and last, early spring seemed a lot cooler than usual. But the past week or so seems unusually hot, and the scary thing is the humidity hasn’t really hit yet. It doesn’t usually get *too* much hotter than this, but we’re entering a new normal.
This heatwave is making me physically sick. And I’m already sick. So this is like compounding the sickness.
And no this is not normal. I have never experienced a heatwave like this in Japan, ever, especially in June.
Its pretty brutal, yeah. I live in an old apartment with a full glass door in the kitchen that faces a small balcony, and it was so hot that my toddler refused to stand anywhere near the kitchen despite the A/C at full blast. I solved this by buying a sheet of tall insulation bubble wrap and on top of it applied a commercial shatterproof clear glass door liner, because the elements quickly destroy the bubble wrap. I then used boat-grade double sided tape that doesn’t disintegrate with heat to glue it to the door frame. With that being windproof on the outside, I did the same on the inside. It’s a ten degrees difference and light still comes through. I’ll post pics if anyone cares
> we don’t have the 4 seasons
Ojisan: Did you know Japan is the only country with 4 seasons?
no… its all over the news, its record breaking
Rainy season (梅雨) this year is over. Japan officially announces when it ends (this is called 梅雨明け). This year’s 梅雨明け for Tokyo (and most of the rest of the country) was 22 days earlier than predicted.
Rainy season usually lasts about a month. This year it lasted only a week, which is extremely abnormal.
This is the hottest June since records began in 1875. Generally in Japan the hottest temperatures come at the end of the rainy season, in mid-late July and early August.
It may not get much hotter than this, but it may well stay this hot for a while. According to my weather forecast things should cool down a bit next week, but it will probably heat back up again in July.