Extreme weather rocks Japan as it experiences snow in the midst of insanely hot summer which killed people

Japan has been so hot in recent weeks that even Anime figures have melted and food has been cooked on car roofs. More than 57,000 people were taken to the hospital over the last three months as the intense rays of the sun mercilessly roasted the nation.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued advisories covering nearly all of Japan except northernmost Hokkaido – which has been spared the heatwave – urging people to drink more water and take adequate measures against heatstroke.

There were 32 confirmed heat-related deaths for the week of Aug. 3 through Aug. 9. Ironically, only the southernmost and southwestern-most regions of Japan, from Okinawa Prefecture to the island of Kyushu, were spared. Osaka Prefecture led the list with 4 deaths, but even typically mild Hokkaido lost one life to the heat.

But the heatwave in Hokkaido have taken a retreat in the most dramatic fashion possible – with snowfall!

Residents of Hokkaido took to Twitter to express how pleasantly surprised and relieved they were for the snow.

今日車がめっちゃ暑かったから焼けるんじゃないかと思ってやってみたら焼けた pic.twitter.com/0BjolUDO6Y

— あるびの (@bigboss0930) July 14, 2018

本日、8月17日0時52分黒岳石室にて初冠雪です☃️
現在の石室気温0℃と冷え込んでおります～！！ pic.twitter.com/WjW3wkecR1

— 大雪山層雲峡黒岳ロープウェイ (@rinyu_kurodake) August 16, 2018

The sight was especially surprising as Japan’s autumn succeeds its summer which begins in June and ends in August, which prompted one netizen to say:

“No way!”

“It’s snowing already!”

“Is this snow in the same Japan?”

“So Hokkaido just skipped autumn and now it’s winter?!”

“Seriously? It’s still summer in Japan, but the difference is intense.”