Japan's weather agency warns of heavy snow on Sea of Japan side

Tokyo, Jan 8 Japan's weather agency said Wednesday heavy snow is forecast from northern to western Japan, especially areas along the Sea of Japan coast, until Friday, with some regions expected to see extremely strong winds with snow.

In the 24 hours through Thursday morning, Niigata Prefecture, the Hokuriku and Tohoku regions and Gifu Prefecture could see up to 70 centimetres of snow, while there may be up to 50 centimetres in the Chugoku region, 40 centimetres in Hokkaido, 35 centimetres in the Kinki region, 20 centimetres in Yamaguchi Prefecture and the Shikoku region, as well as 5 centimetres in northern Kyushu, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

In the subsequent 24-hour period until Friday morning, 70 centimetres of snow is forecast for Niigata Prefecture, the Hokuriku and Tohoku regions, Gifu Prefecture and the Chugoku region, 50 centimetres for Hokkaido and the Kinki region, 30 centimetres for Yamaguchi Prefecture and the Shikoku region, and 7 centimetres for northern Kyushu, the JMA said.

Weather officials warned of possible traffic disruptions while advising people to watch out for blackouts caused by snow accumulation on power lines, avalanches, strong winds, high waves, and lightning strikes, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, the JMA on Tuesday 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.

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.