Published 2025-09-09 14.01
High temperatures and record heat have hit Tokyo, when the World Cup in athletics is now approaching by storm.
Soon the athletics World Cup will start in Tokyo, Japan. The championship comes after another record hot summer in the country.
The average temperature in Japan was 2.36 degrees warmer than usual between June and August – the hottest summer since the measurements began in 1898 according to Japan’s meteorological authority (JMA). It is the third straight summer with record high temperatures.
– I don’t think it’s a big secret that we have challenges with the heat in Tokyo, says the International Athletics Association’s (World Athletics) chairman Sebastian Coe.
Already during the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, the heat was a problem. Competitions in marathon and once had to be moved to Sapporo, a cooler city in the north, because of the heat.
On Tuesday, the temperature reached 33 degrees in Tokyo, on Saturday the World Cup begins.
– It’s not temporary, they are here to stay, says Coe about the high temperature and continues:
– Governments have not stepped up and the sport will need to make any one -sided assessments and decisions.
However, COE believes that World Athletics is the foremost union when it comes to protecting practitioners from the consequences of global warming.
– I am very proud to be able to say with the full right that we have the most capable and prominent health and science team in any international sport.
The Athletics World Cup in Tokyo runs September 13-21.
