Heatwave hits Japan

It’s typically very hot in the summer in Japan but temperatures have hit record highs far earlier this year with mid 30’s daily at the end of June which is rare. This has made it very hard for golf, or for anything for that matter including work. (^_^) My home office is located on the second floor and today, temperatures hit 36.9C  (98F) before I caved in and turned on the AC (yes as you can see on the clock that’s almost 6pm!!). Add in the terrible humidity and it feels like 45C. Central air conditioning is not the norm in Japan unlike back in Canada where we’d have the AC running in the whole house even on a 26C day.

Japan has been on a severe energy saving binge as well following the disasters in March and constant promotions are made to cut back on energy and electricity usage. Some offices in the Tokyo area have set a 32C ceiling before being able to turn on their coolers – I do not know how they can work…  Incentives and targets have been promoted to motivate people to try and cut back 15% energy usage from previous months. This seems more and more impossible as it just gets hotter and hotter.  I went out to walk my dog at 6am this morning  because the heat is just too terrible for him any later in the day and it was already nearing 28C plus the humidity. I ran into one of my neighbors who was heading out for a round of golf today. One things for sure, there are many open tee times and green fees are on the downward swing to promote golfers to come out. With the weeks outlook calling only for sun and heat… I’m actually praying for some rain!