[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] With Japan recording the highest June temperatures ever and Europe experiencing consecutive days of scorching heat, the impact of climate change is expected to force the entire world to struggle against heatwaves this summer.
According to Japan's Nihon Keizai on the 27th, Tokyo's city center recorded a heatwave for three consecutive days for the first time ever in June. Considering the temperature forecasts for the remaining three days of June, the average temperature for the last 10 days of June is expected to be 32.8 degrees Celsius, the highest since the Japan Meteorological Agency began compiling statistics in 1875. This is expected to be 2 degrees higher than the previous highest record for late June, 30.8 degrees, set in 1946 and 1963.
The rainy season is expected to be short, leading to prolonged heat. The Japan Meteorological Agency announced on the same day that the rainy season appears to have ended in the Kanto, Sea of Japan, and southern Kyushu regions.
With severe heatwaves anticipated, the shadow over Japan's economy is expected to deepen. Since Japan relies on imports for energy such as oil and gas, increased electricity usage during summer for air conditioning will cause energy import costs to surge.
Due to the impact of the Ukraine war causing crude oil and gas prices to soar, Japan has recorded a trade deficit for 10 consecutive months until last month. This 10-month streak is the longest since 2015. In particular, the import volume in May surged 48.9% year-on-year to 9.6367 trillion yen, marking the first time Japan's monthly import volume exceeded 9 trillion yen.
Europe is also suffering from severe heatwaves. In Spain, temperatures exceeded 40 degrees Celsius daily in mid-June. France is also enduring heatwaves above 40 degrees, with analyses showing temperatures this month are 10 to 14 degrees higher than average. Germany recorded its highest June temperature ever at 39.2 degrees on the 19th.
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