How the Recent Weather Instability Affecting Us (Part 1) ?

Osaka – Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Popular Japan TV morning and evening news programmes have been reporting lately on how the recent weather instability weather in Japan has been giving negative effects on businesses (especially vegetable, fruit and flower) and on our health. Negative effects of global abnormal climate and instable weather have been a worldwide issue, and Japan is not an exception.

1. How the weather in Japan has been instable recently?

The weather has been extremely instable, with rapid and drastic temperature and weather change in such a short period that we are experiencing winter and spring or early summer in one or few days, and/or in a week.

For example in Tokyo, the temperature was 22.4℃ on April 11, which dropped by 15.7℃ to 6.7℃ on April 12 but rose by 11.5℃ to 18.2℃ on April 13. In Maehashi, Gunma prefecture, it was as cold as winter on April 12 but became hot on April 13 with temperature rise by 17℃ to the average temperature of end of May. And in Nagano also, it was as cold as winter on April 12 but heated up on April 13 reaching the temperature of 25℃ and children enjoyed playing with water. There have even been some places in which temperature has been extremely instable within a day.

The temperature in these places is expected to drop again April 14 – 17, to the level which is below 5 – 7 ℃ below the average temperature at this time of the year. Therefore, the Meteorological Agency decided to officially announce “low temperature” first time in 14 years.

2. What was the reason for the recent weather instability?

According to Professor Yamagawa of Tokyo University, the recent weather instability attributes to what he calls “mock El Nino”, making cold air coming in, leading to low pressure. With this, cold weather comes from south, where warm weather usually comes from. This resulted in wind as strong as typhoon in northern part of Japan. For example, Sapporo, Hokkaido, was hit with winds of 33kph on April 13, and with the strong wind (plus snow), walls of an apartment broke down, directly hitting a car. Thus such weather in northern Japan is named “spring storm”.

3. What are the negative effects of the recent weather instability?

Vegetables and fruits have been negatively affective by the recent weather instability as below.

1) Vegetables and fruits

(1) Cabbage

Unstable weather led to insufficient sunshine (only 70% of previous years in Kanto area for example), meaning lean harvesting, and short of supply. This apparently results in increase in price, but some retailers have prices at 298 yen instead of 398 yen which they really want to price or 313 yen which the cost because they fully are aware that consumers would not pay more than 300 yen for a cabbage. Some retailers are tackling this problem by selling cabbages in halves and quarters and making sure to sell out but they have not been as successful as they had hoped.

According to a few consumers interviewed, they cannot afford to pay more than 300 yen for a cabbage, and now they make the most of what they purchase by using outer hard leaves and centre core as well when they would have not done if the price had not gone up as now.

(2) “New” cabbage

For the reason same as the cabbage explained above, the harvesting has reached only 50% of previous years, when this kind of “new” cabbage are harvested only in March and April (hence the name “new” cabbage) meaning it should have reached around 70% by now by simple calculation. This has directly been reflected in up pricing.

(3) Other “spring” vegetables

Other vegetables usually brought to cultivation and harvested in spring if green house is not used (we call them “spring vegetables” in Japan) such as tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants and green peppers have not been growing well for the same reason as cabbages. As a result, only 70% - 80% of the previous year level has been harvested. As for green peppers, it is below 70%.

Some cucumber growers have been handling this by combination of green house use and heating. They have been achieving their yield quantity target but not in their cost due to high heating cost, thus their business has not been as successful as they expected.

(4) Strawberries

Cultivation and business of strawberries, symbol of “spring fruits” (fruits harvested in spring), also have been negatively affected by the recent instable weather. Growth of strawberries is extremely bad for the same reason as vegetables, and growers are suffering from high heating cost.

(5) Japanese plums

Japanese plums are also a symbol of “spring” in Japan and its cultivation and business have also been negatively effected by the recent instable weather, similarly to other vegetables and fruits. It is expected to result in 1.8 billion yen loss for Japanese plum business in Wakayama Prefecture, whose market share is the highest.

2) Other plants and animals

Other plants and animals have also been negatively affected by the recent weather instability.

(1) Carnations

Carnation, a spring flower, has not been growing well, and growers are extremely worried that they will make little business from carnation unlike previous years. Carnation is the most common gift given on Mother’s Day, which is the second Sunday in May, so carnation growers cultivate, harvest and ship to meet such market demand and needs every year. However, with the recent instable weather, carnations have not been growing well and growers are worried that they would not be able to ship their products in time for Mother’s Day and their profit would decrease by 70% from previous years.

(2) Honey bees

Breeding and growing of honey bees have been affected by the recent instable weather as well. When it becomes warm in spring, honey bees produce eggs, which incubate and finally become adult honey bees. However, recent instable weather including winter-like days resulted in insufficient incubation and/or child neglect by adult honey bees. Consequently, only about 70% of eggs have been successfully becoming adult bees.

3) Our health

Recent weather instability has negatively affecting our health, resulting in the patients suffering from cold, asthma and other cardiovascular diseases (e.g. cardiac infarction and angina pectoris) attributing to changeable weather. In fact, such patients are double the previous years. Doctors call such diseases “meteorotropic disease”.

4. Are there any positive effects of the recent instable weather? If yes, how are they compared to negative effects?

Yes, there are a few positive effects of the recent instable weather. Such includes the fact that cherry blossoms can be enjoyed for longer time compared to previous years because of some days of low temperature, and strong sales of spring and rain coats in retailers. However, negative effects and losses are greater.

After all, our business and life are based on nature and ecosystems optimally balanced under normal, stable climate and weather. The above can be said as how imbalance of ecosystems of nature negatively affects our human ecosystems.