As spring is in full swing, many may have already forgotten that Tokyo saw its warmest summer and fall last year, smashing the short-lived previous record of 2023. In fact, 2024 was the hottest year on record in Japan, in keeping with a global trend.
The heat was truly unprecedented, with deviations in Tokyo so large and persistent that daily historical maximums of 27 degrees Celsius often became daily minimums in the fall.
With a significantly more intense and extended zansho — that is, lingering summer heat — vendors selling kakigōri, the shaved ice dessert, experienced a sales boom. Meanwhile, at some shrines, prayers were offered for an end to the relentless warm weather, particularly given that a string of record-hot years has in part contributed to recent rice shortages across the country.
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