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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Andhra Pradesh: Four children die of suffocation after getting locked in parked car
Vizianagaram: In a devastating incident that has shocked the local community, four children died of asphyxiation on Sunday after accidentally getting locked inside a parked car in Andhra Pradesh’s Dwarapudi village of Vizianagaram rural mandal.
The children, identified as Mangi Uday (8), Burle Charumathi (8), Burle Charishma (6), and Kandi Manaswini (6), were playing in the village when they entered an unattended vehicle to take shelter from the rain. Tragically, the car door locked behind them, trapping them inside without ventilation, as reported by The New Indian Express.
The car had reportedly been left near the Mahila Mandali office by an unidentified individual two days earlier. The vehicle remained unattended, and it is believed the doors were not properly secured, allowing the children to enter unnoticed.
As the children failed to return home by evening, their families began searching for them across the village and surrounding areas. After more than three hours of searching, the children were found unconscious inside the car. The windows were broken in an attempt to rescue them, but all four had already succumbed to asphyxiation due to extreme heat and lack of oxygen inside the vehicle, added the report.
The bodies were rushed to the Government General Hospital (GGH) in Vizianagaram, where doctors confirmed that the cause of death was suffocation.
Local police have launched an investigation to trace the owner of the vehicle.
Vizianagaram MLA Aditi Vijayalaxmi visited the grieving families at the hospital and expressed her condolences. She assured that all necessary assistance would be provided to the families of the deceased children.
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