Heat wave in Japan leaves 65 dead, 22,000 hospitalized
Tokyo, July 24 : Japan's weather agency has declared the heatwave sweeping the country a natural disaster, with at least 65 deaths recorded in the past week.
According to official figures released on Tuesday, more than 22,000 people were hospitalized, with temperatures soaring to historic levels, the BBC reported.
This is the highest number of people to have been given hospital care for a heat wave in 10 years when official records first started being kept.
High temperatures were recorded across the country since mid-July and Monday reached a historic maximum of 41.1ºCelsius in the city of Kumagaya in Saitama Prefecture.
Figures provided by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA) said that of the 65 deaths, six were in Saitama.
The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that temperatures of 35ºCelsius or higher would continue until early August. "We are observing unprecedented levels of heat in some areas," agency spokesman Motoaki Takekawa said, adding that the heatwave was "a threat to life and we recognise it as a natural disaster".
In Japan's most populated prefecture of Tokyo alone, 1,979 people had been hospitalized because of the heat wave.
With less than half of Japan's public schools equipped with air conditioning, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the summer holidays could be extended to protect pupils.
The Japanese people have been advised to drink plenty of water, use air conditioning and rest often.
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Death toll from Israeli strikes in northeast Lebanon rises from 8 to 24, Lebanese news agency says
Deir al-Balah, Nov 1: Israeli airstrikes on Friday killed at least 24 people in northeastern Lebanon, the country's news agency said, raising the death toll from eight there.
It was the latest deadly toll in the area since the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah escalated last month.
Israel's military has said that its operation in Lebanon is targeting Hezbollah's military infrastructure.
Lebanon's state National news Agency reported four airstrikes in different villages across country's northeast, saying rescuers were still searching for survivors in Younine, a town in the Bekaa Valley, from the rubble of a targeted house.
Hussein Haj Hassan, a Lebanese lawmaker representing the region in Baalbek-Hermel region, said that 60,000 people have already fled their homes in the area due to Israeli bombardment.
