Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji it got the first snowfall of the season on Thursday, 21 days later than normal.
Light white dust was visible from the city, according to the Kofu weather office, located about 40 km from Fuji. temperature dropped near the summit below freezing overnight,
Snowfall followed an unusually hot summer, Asahi Shimbun noted.
Mount Fuji’s first seasonal snowfall It is announced as soon as it becomes visible from the observation point of the Kofu Weather Office, a tradition dating back more than a century.
from japan The first snowfall on the highest mountains usually occurs in early October. However, this year’s initial dusting still comes before last year’s record – as late as November 7, which is the latest date recorded in 130 years of observations.
Meteorological officials noted last year that October rains had resulted in no snowfall and that the average temperature at the summit was the highest on record. This is what experts said global warming Was a contributing factor.
The previous record for delay in first snowfall on the 3,776-metre-high mountain was October 26, set in both 1955 and 2016, with record-keeping dating back to 1894.
Experts believe the late arrival of snow on Mount Fuji reflects broader changes in seasonal weather patterns driven by the climate crisis. Rising heat is causing changes in rainfall and snowfall patterns globally, making 2024 the hottest year on record for the second year in a row.
Coastal and mountainous regions of Japan are experiencing similar effects, with warmer autumns and milder winters becoming more common.
Japan experienced extreme heat this summerThe nationwide average temperature was 2.36C above normal and Isesaki in Gunma Prefecture reached a record 41.8C in early August.
The Japanese Meteorological Agency reported at least 30 instances of temperatures exceeding 40C, almost double the previous record of 17 in 2018. As a result, 100,000 people were hospitalized for heatstroke.
High temperatures persisted even as autumn approached, with more than 30 locations across the country recording maximum temperatures in October and Kagoshima recording a high of 35C.
The research shows that Japanese summers lengthened by about three weeks between 1982 and 2023.
Warm westerly winds as well as rising land and sea temperatures Kuroshio current Experts say a warm ocean current flowing from the tropical Pacific along Japan’s east coast is causing this change. Winter remains much the same in Japan, but spring and autumn are becoming shorter.
Experts have warned that if global warming remains unchecked, the country could effectively have only two seasons within the next 30 years.
“This year we have seen very high surface temperatures on both sides of the islands of Japan, in both the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, which has contributed to above-average humidity and warm air temperatures over land,” Yoshihiro Iijima, a climate science professor at Tokyo Metropolitan University, told German broadcaster DW.
“We have broken records three years in a row and this is a very worrying trend. I would have been concerned about a gradual increase in temperatures, but we are seeing unusually high increases,” he said.
A study published last month said “record high temperatures observed around Japan in the summer of 2025 would never have actually occurred with the assumption of no impacts from global warming”. “The rate of increase in temperatures due to global warming has accelerated in recent years,” it says. “Japan has seen record-high summer average surface air temperatures for three consecutive years, from 2023 to 2025, far exceeding the projected linear trend of temperatures based on the period from 1995 to 2024.”
Hikers from around the world climb Japan’s highest mountain from July to September, with approximately 200,000 attempting to reach the summit each year. Many people make the overnight trip to watch the sunrise from the peak.
Mount Fuji is also a sacred site for Shinto and Buddhist pilgrims, with a shrine at its summit dedicated to the Shinto goddess of the mountain, Konohanasakuya-hime.