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Heat Headache for 2020 Planners as Tokyo Swelters Year Before Games

Reuters

   TOKYO - Soaring temperatures in Japan have killed at least 57 people
   since late July, authorities said on Tuesday, highlighting the health
   threat to athletes and fans that Olympics organizers must tackle before
   next year's Tokyo games.

   Temperatures have been stuck above 31 Celsius (88 Fahrenheit) in and
   around Tokyo since July 24, the date the Summer Games will open next
   year in Japan's capital and run for 17 days.

   The sweltering heat killed 57 people across Japan in the week from July
   29 to Aug. 4, the Disaster Management Agency said on Tuesday. More than
   1,800 were taken to hospitals in Tokyo.

   Last summer temperatures hit a record 41.1 C just north of Tokyo, which
   first hosted the Olympics in 1964 when the games were held in October
   to avoid the heat. Four years later, the Mexico City Games were also
   moved to October.

   Since 1976 most summer games have been held in the Northern Hemisphere
   summer due to international broadcasting and sports schedules --
   forcing Tokyo organizers to find ways to keep athletes and tens of
   thousands of fans cool and hydrated.

   "Weather conditions were often organizers' challenges in past Olympic
   and Paralympic Games. We also understand that top-tier competitions can
   sometimes be observed in cities with even tougher weather patterns than
   in Tokyo," said Tokyo 2020 spokesman Masa Takaya.

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