THE number of people hospitalized with heatstroke in the week to Sunday jumped fourfold compared to the previous week, when temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius in some cities amid a scorching heatwave, preliminary data from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency showed on Tuesday.
During the period, 9,105 people sought emergency treatment at hospitals for suspected heatstroke across the country, more than double the number compared to the same period last year.
Those aged 65 and over reached 5,378, which is 59.1% of the total.
By prefecture, Tokyo had the highest number of heatstroke-related transport cases at 907. Aichi was second with 763 cases.
Based on the location from which patients were transported, those found in their own homes constituted the largest proportion at 37.9%, followed by on public roads or sidewalks, at 20.6%.
The number of patients is likely to increase in the coming weeks, which is expected to put pressure on hospitals.
Read also: Heat Waves Hit Record Highs, What Causes Them?
As a precaution, the Center for Advanced Medical Physics and IT Research of Nagoya Institute of Technology recently launched a website that provides forecasts of heatstroke admissions for hospitals in eight prefectures including Tokyo, Osaka, Aichi, Hokkaido and Hiroshima. Two more prefectures will be added next month.
Akimasa Hirata, a professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering and director of the research center, said the estimates will help hospitals make preparations, such as estimating how many ambulances will be needed.
The institute’s estimates are based on a wet-bulb temperature index — which takes into account air temperature, solar radiation and humidity — and data for 140,000 former heatstroke patients.
In Tokyo, a total of 7,112 people were taken to hospital for suspected heatstroke between June and September last year — the highest in five years. Of those suspected cases, 3,502 occurred in July.
According to statistics from the Tokyo Fire Department, the number of ambulance calls increases when the temperature reaches between 25 C and 35 C and the humidity is in the range of 50% to 80%. (Japan Times/Z-3)
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