The heat wave in Japan has claimed the lives of five people, while 5,440 others were admitted to hospitals during the past week, Sputnik reported.
According to the Kyodo News Agency, the majority of the casualties were registered in the west of the country. The five died before doctors were able to provide them with medical care.
In the past three weeks, Japanese hospitals registered 105 people in serous condition over the excessive heat, while 1665 people needed short-term hospitalization, the agency recalled. Some 43 percent of the affected were the elderly, in particular, those aged above 65 years old.
In recent days, the temperature in several Japanese prefectures has climbed significantly above 30 degrees Celsius. The Japanese meteorologists urge people to use conditioners, not to stay for long outside and drink a lot of water due to the unusually hot weather.