Heavy snow hits areas along Sea of Japan

Tokyo, Jan 10 Heavy snow hit Sea of Japan coastal areas in northern, central and western Japan on Friday, disrupting bullet train operations and forcing the closure of some sections of expressways and national roads.

In the morning, snow forced the temporary suspension of Yamagata Shinkansen bullet train services between Fukushima Station in the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima and Shinjo Station in another northeastern prefecture of Yamagata, affecting 12 inbound and outbound trains and some 1,600 people, according to East Japan Railway.

Trains on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line ran at reduced speeds between Nagoya and Shin-Osaka stations and delays were experienced also on the Sanyo Shinkansen Line, the train operators added.

Meanwhile, part of the Hokuriku Expressway was closed from the early hours of Friday through to around noon following an accident, leaving roughly 100 vehicles stranded, Xinhua news agency reported.

A section where the Tomei and Meishin expressways merge between Aichi and Shiga prefectures was also temporarily closed.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) urged residents in the affected areas to stay vigilant, as snow will continue to fall in the mountainous regions facing the Sea of Japan toward Saturday morning.

The JMA forecast that the northeastern, central and western regions will have up to 60 centimeters of snow in the 24 hours through 6 a.m. local time Saturday.

Earlier this week, the JMA had revealed that the country's average temperature in 2024 was the highest on record, driven by global warming and westerly winds.

The average temperature from January through December was 1.48 degrees Celsius higher than the mean temperature for the 30-year period through 2020, marking the biggest difference since comparable data became available in 1898 and surpassing the previous year's record of 1.29 degrees Celsius, the JMA said on Tuesday.

Record-high average temperatures were observed in autumn last year after the country already witnessed its hottest summer, tying the previous record logged in 2023.

By month, April, July and October set record highs, the JMA said.

Japan has seen a trend of consistently high temperatures in recent years, with 2019 to 2024 ranking as the top six hottest years.