Deaths from heatstroke quadruple to 96 people in July in Tokyo
10:35, 3 August 2018
TOKYO. KAZINFORM Ninety-six people died of heatstroke in central Tokyo's 23 wards in July, nearly a fourfold increase from the same month last year, the Tokyo Medical Examiner's Office said Wednesday.
The figure far outstripped the 25 people who died in July last year, with reports of deaths rising sharply between July 17 and 25 after a heat wave began gripping Japan following massive flooding and landslides caused by torrential rains in the western Japan, according to the office, KYODO NEWS reports.
Of the total, people in their 60s or older accounted for 85.4 percent, the office said.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday that 57,534 people across Japan were taken to hospitals due to heatstroke or heat exhaustion between April 30 and July 29, including 125 people who died.
On Monday last week, the heat wave sent the temperature to a record high of 41.1 C in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo.