Sweltering heatwave hits Japan, heatstroke alerts issued

Extreme heat continued to grip Japan on Monday, with the mercury already topping 35 degrees Celsius in the morning in many areas of the country's east and north, said Japan's weather agency.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said by 11:00 a.m. local time, the temperature had reached 37.7 degrees in Hatoyama Town in Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, 37.1 degrees in Date City in Fukushima Prefecture, and 35.1 degrees in central Tokyo.

Officials warned that the risk of people developing heatstroke is extremely high, and issued heatstroke alerts for Tokyo, Kyoto, and 17 other prefectures.

The JMA said that atmospheric conditions are expected to become unstable in northern and eastern Japan through Tuesday due to a cold air mass and the temperature rises during the daytime, warning against possible lightning, gusts, hail and torrential rain.