1,464 people rushed to hospitals amid summer heat in July+

TOKYO, Aug. 1 Kyodo -
The number of people in Tokyo who were taken to hospitals due to heat
exhaustion totaled 1,464 in July, up from 359 last year, the Tokyo Fire
Department said Sunday.
''The number was so high probably because the temperature exceeded 35 C for
days right after the end of the rainy season before people's bodies became
acclimatized to the intense heat,'' said an official with the Japan
Meteorological Agency.
The rainy season ended on July 17 and then the mercury spiked for four days
from July 21.
During the four-day spell of the heat wave, 745 people were transported to
hospitals.
In July, heat topped 30 C for a total of 22 days.
Because of the scorching weather, a 91-year-old female resident of Tokyo's
Nerima Ward died at her home and 127 people became critically ill.
It is expected to become hotter in August compared with average years due to
the powerful high-pressure system in the Pacific Ocean, according to the
meteorological agency.
==Kyodo