General News

Tokyo, Other Places Mark Record-High March Temperatures Sunday

The Yomiuri Shimbun
People in half sleeves are seen in Ginza, Tokyo, on Sunday.

Jiji Press

13:49 JST, April 1, 2024

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—The mercury soared mainly in the Kanto-Koshin regions of eastern and central Japan on Sunday, with Tokyo and many other places marking the highest readings for March since the start of observation, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Observation points in the city of Fuchu in Tokyo and Chiyoda Ward at the heart of the Japanese capital saw the temperature rise to as high as 28.6 degrees Celsius and 28.1 degrees, respectively. Both figures marked record highs for the sites for March.

A total of more than 60 sites logged record-high temperatures for the month on Sunday. Among them, Maebashi, the capital of Gunma Prefecture, eastern Japan, recorded 27.4 degrees, Yokohama, the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, 26.9 degrees, the town of Kozagawa in the western prefecture of Wakayama 26.7 degrees and the city of Mima, Tokushima Prefecture, also western Japan, 27.7 degrees.

These areas were covered with warm air from the south, according to the agency.

Among other municipalities, the day’s maximum temperature stood at 28.6 degrees in Kofu, the capital of Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo, and 28.5 degrees in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward although the readings were not the highest for March.

Amid the warm weather, monitored Somei-Yoshino cherry trees started blooming in three more municipalities in Japan on Sunday, according to the agency. They were Maebashi, the city of Kumagaya in the eastern prefecture of Saitama and Mito, the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture, also eastern Japan.

While flowering was generally later than usual in the country this spring due to cold weather returning in March, many places saw cherry blossoms start to bloom in the past week as it was getting warm.

A sample Somei-Yoshino tree in the western city of Kochi, which began to flower March 23 to become the earliest to do so among all monitored cherry trees across Japan this year, reached full bloom on Sunday, the agency said.