The temperature in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, got as high as 34 degrees Celsius (93 Fahrenheit) on Sunday, the opening day of this year's edition of Summer Koshien. According to AccuWeather RealFeel, which measures in things such as humidity, cloud cover, intensity of the sun and other factors, it felt like 39. It's not forecasted to be below 32 for at least the next week.
So while much of the focus at Koshien Stadium over the next few weeks will be on winning and losing, officials had better also keep a close eye on the temperatures in the area.
The summer heat in Kansai may be as much of a staple of Koshien as sacrifice bunts, but it’s a little more intense than usual this year.