Japan and South Korea reel from record-breaking heat
Guardian2 days
Japan Sets New Heat Record Amid East Asian Heatwave
Above: Morning commuters wait for a bus under a water mist spray in Osaka, Japan, on July 31, 2025. Image copyright: Buddhika Weerasinghe/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The Spin
Climate-concerned narrative
These record temperatures represent a clear escalation in the climate crisis affecting East Asia. The consecutive breaking of heat records in Japan and South Korea's unprecedented tropical night streak demonstrates how climate change is making extreme weather more frequent and deadly. Asia is also warming faster than other parts of the world, making the crisis all the more acute.
Climate-skeptic narrative
Japan is uniquely vulnerable to heatwaves due to its aging population, making a climate-only narrative one that buries the lede. Japan has been leading the way in ameliorating the impact of heat on the elderly and vulnerable, including promoting air conditioning, well-being visits on those who live alone, and even the use of wearable tech that monitors body temperature. Society can make heatwave deaths preventable, and focusing on climate alarmism doesn't help.