The Tokyo Olympics will be affected by hot and humid weather

According to weather forecasters, Japan is heading for an above-average summer, and this development may mean that the Tokyo Olympics will enter a period of extreme heat.

Forecasts by the Japan Meteorological Agency and the private weather company Weathernews indicate that the high pressure area of ​​the North Pacific will extend to Tokyo in July.

If the early predictions are correct, then heat and humidity will become an additional problem for athletes, especially if Covid-19 means they don’t have a long time Adaptation period Countries before the Olympics.

High temperatures may also make it more difficult to implement Covid-19 countermeasures (such as wearing masks).

Olympic It is scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 8. This is the peak of Japan’s notoriously hot and humid summer. The Paralympics was originally scheduled to be held from August 24 to September 5. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, both events have been postponed for a year.

The hot summer is especially regrettable, because Japan was extremely cool in July last year when the Olympic Games were originally scheduled to be held.

Weathernews said that the temperature in Tokyo is expected to be higher than average, while the temperature in northern and western Japan will be close to normal. It predicts temperature peaks in late July and late August.

“The key to high temperatures is the high pressure belts in Tibet and the North Pacific,” Weathernews forecaster Tatsuya Sasaki said. “If the high pressures in the North Pacific and Tibet overlap, then we can expect heat waves.”

Average daily maximum temperature About 30 degrees Average value of relative humidity in summer in Tokyo About 80%But if the atmospheric pressure becomes “double high,” Japan may experience a maximum temperature of more than 35 degrees Celsius for several days, Sasaki said.

Motoaki Takekawa of JMA said: “We expect the temperature from June to August to be above average.” He said that there is still a lot of uncertainty in the weather forecast, and the weather in the second half of summer may be close to average.

Long-standing concerns about the hot summer in Tokyo mean that the Olympic marathon has been transferred to Northern Sapporo CityWhen Tokyo hosted the Olympic Games in 1964, they were held in October.

The Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee discussed this forecast at an executive committee meeting last week and warned that it needs to coordinate measures to cope with Covid-19 and extreme heat.

It is considering how to maintain social distance under shade tents, how to avoid heatstroke in people wearing masks, and how to classify heatstroke victims.

In its Original bidding documents When talking about the Summer Olympics, Tokyo said: “The weather during this period was sunny for many days, providing ideal climatic conditions for athletes to perform their best.”