Research Organization Forecasts Climate Change to Progress to Hokkaido Temperatures of Over 40 C in Around 2100

The Yomiuri Shimbun

6:00 JST, June 24, 2025

The Hokkaido Research Organization (HRO) has released a video on its website with a simulated weather forecast program for around the year 2100 reporting the temperature in many places, mainly the inland parts of Hokkaido, as over 40 C.

In the video, a weather forecaster introduces the maximum temperatures in various parts of Hokkaido, saying that global warming is progressing and it will be hotter than 40 C in many areas. The forecaster describes the present day as “80 years ago when it was cooler than now,” and when “children played in parks even in the middle of summer, a situation that is unthinkable today.”

The clip also says the period of time recognized as summer has been extended from the current July to August to between June and September.

The video’s scenario was created by the HRO’s Research Institute of Energy, Environment and Geology based on domestic and international climate forecasting models. However, even in extreme scenarios, Kushiro and Wakkanai cities will still have many days in the future with maximum temperatures of below 30 C.

Hiroaki Suzuki, a project general manager of the research institute, said, “Hokkaido’s cooler climate may be a greater advantage when considering corporate relocation and migration.”