By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – According to Japan Meteorological Agency on Saturday heavy snow hit Sea of Japan coastal areas in northern, central and western Japan, disrupted bullet train operations and forced the closure of some sections of expressways and national roads.
According to East Japan Railway, the 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.
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.
The part of the Hokuriku Expressway was closed from the early hours of Friday through to around noon following an accident, left 100 vehicles stranded, news media reported.
It said that the section where the Tomei and Meishin expressways merge between Aichi and Shiga prefectures was also temporarily closed.
The Japan Meteorological Agency 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.
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, marked 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.
The record-high average temperatures were observed in autumn last year after the country witnessed its hottest summer, tying the previous record logged in 2023.
JMA said April, July and October set record highs snow.
Japan has seen a trend of high temperatures in recent years, with 2019 to 2024 ranking as the top six hottest years.
Comments are closed.