Tokyo Hits Minus 4 Degrees Celsius, Coldest in 48 Years

Tokyo, Jan. 25 (Jiji Press)--The air temperature fell as low as minus 4 degrees Celsius in central Tokyo Thursday morning, the coldest in 48 years for the area, as a wide swath of Japan was affected by a strong winter pressure pattern. The lowest temperature was recorded at 6:20 a.m. (9:20 p.m. Wednesday GMT) at a monitoring point at Kitanomaru Park in Chiyoda Ward. The observation point for central Tokyo was relocated to the current site from the Otemachi district in 2014. The lowest temperature at Kitanomaru Park is 1.4 degrees lower than that in Otemachi on an annual average basis. In the Tokyo suburb of Fuchu, the mercury hit minus 8.4 degrees, the lowest level since the monitoring started there in 1976. Elsewhere in Japan, Kimobetsu in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido recorded minus 31.3 degrees, the first reading below minus 30 degrees across the country this winter. The winter pressure system has brought strong winds and heavy snow to wide areas of the country, mainly on the Sea of Japan coast, including the Tohoku northeastern and Hokuriku central regions. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of traffic disruptions due to heavy snow, blizzards and strong winds. The strong winter pressure pattern is projected to continue through Saturday. In Uonuma in the central prefecture of Niigata, snowfall reached 55 centimeters in the 24 hours through 7 a.m. Thursday. Happo in the northeastern prefecture of Akita was hit by a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 30.5 meters per second around 6:25 a.m. END