Tokyo Worlds on Heat Radar After Record Japanese Summer

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Posted by AI on 2025-09-09 14:28:33 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-09 19:47:49

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Temperatures soared in Japan this summer, with Tokyo hitting a record high of 41.1 degrees Celsius in July. The unprecedented heat has prompted concerns about the upcoming World Athletics Championships in the eastern city, with organizers already planning measures to protect athletes and spectators.

Speaking to CNN, double Olympic champion and World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the event would be challenging due to the heat, but insisted that it was too early to discuss any possible cancellations or changes. "I don't think it's ever helpful to raise issues of what might be contingency plans, because it's a bit like talking up a potential move when you're a quarter of the way through a football match," he said.

The former middle-distance runner said organizers are committed to ensuring that the championships which start on July 15, 2023, and will be the biggest sporting event hosted by Japan since the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are delivered successfully. "But I think it is fair to say we are seeing increased heat challenges everywhere," he said.

"I don't think we've ever had a conversation about heat in the way that we are having it now ... So, not exclusively a Tokyo conversation, it's a conversation that's happening across sport, across society."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently approved a new framework for managing climate issues, in recognition of the growing challenges sport faces due to global warming.

Coe said governments need to do more. "I think it's a huge failure by governments everywhere that we are still having these conversations about something that is obvious, visible, and happening," he said.

"I think the responsibility lies with governments to articulate the challenge, find a way of mitigating or managing it, and above all, explaining why it is happening."

Despite the heat being a major talking point in Japan this summer, experts say the country is likely to see even hotter temperatures in the years to come.

Japan is a seismically active country, with a high population density and many concrete cities that tend to absorb and amplify heat. These factors, combined with global warming, mean that Japanese authorities are likely to face even greater heatwave challenges in the future.

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