It has been revealed that Japan is a “hotspot,” significantly affected by climate change, after five years of research by universities and research institutions.
Since 2019, a consortium of over 10 universities and research institutions has conducted observations on the expansive water mass known as “Subtropical Mode Water,” seamlessly stretching southward of Japan, and made the first-ever observations of the JPCZ (Japan Sea Polar Front Convergence Zone), recognized as the “snow line.”
It was reported that the persistence of global warming is linked to a decrease in the volume of “Subtropical Mode Water” south of Japan, contributing to the intensified nature of typhoons in a presentation shared at the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science. A strong cold air mass from the Arctic has also been moving toward Japan more easily in the past decade.
Many oceanography and meteorology researchers are expressing their concerns about the climate changes occurring around Japan in recent years.