Japan braces for power crunch as heat mounts after rains end

Summer heat starts with the end of Japan’s rainy season. In 2018, the June 29 end of the season brought an extremely hot summer with several heat waves that put thousands in hospital.

Japan scrambled on Monday to avert a looming power crunch as temperatures climbed nationwide, with authorities warning of higher than expected demand after the rainy season ended in the capital, Tokyo, at its earliest since record-keeping began.