Mad Dogs and Englishmen

I have a video clip date 22 July 2026 titled "Japan marks first cruelly hot day." And today I am seeing an article titled Three lions die in Tokyo as record-breaking temperatures hit East Asia.

The term kokushobi for cruelly hot day was introduced in April and finally used as a designator in July. The video clip indicates temperatures exceeded 104 degrees Fahrenheit in three Japanese cities.

I've been in places that got to 112 or 115, though those were arid climates and it really makes a difference whether or not it's a dry heat. If it's hot and humid -- and I'm guessing Japan is -- it's harder to keep cool.

I grew up in Georgia where it routinely got to 99 degrees or higher with very high humidity in the summer. I've written about that in various places.

1. A lot of people in the Deep South make cold brew tea, either in the refrigerator or on the porch. The latter is called Sun Tea. 

This means you don't heat up the house to make tea. We take our tea cold and comedians joke endlessly about how sweet our sweet tea is. It's likely the high amount of sugar is somehow about coping with the temperature.

2. Historically, wealthy families had a summer kitchen away from the house so you didn't heat the house up while cooking. To this day, cooking outside is a popular summer activity.

We also have traditions like potato salad which can be served hot or cold. So you make a giant bowl on Sunday and serve it hot, then grill hot dogs or hamburgers outside and serve cold side dishes like potato salad for the next few days.

3. My mother got takeout one day a week in summer when I was a child. She called the restaurant about a mile from our house, placed her order and drove to pick it up. 

Your primary takeaway should be: Whatever you are eating or drinking, try to not heat up the house to do it.

Mexico has a tradition of afternoon siestas. They eat lunch and then nap during the hottest part of the day.

You don't just need fluids, you need electrolytes if you are sweating a lot. Stop vilifying salty foods. You need the salt and probably other electrolytes.

I wish the planet would pull its head out its butt and stop hurtling towards our climate doom in the name of progress, but higher temperatures are probably here to stay.

Is 104 hot? Absolutely. Does it have to be deadly? NOPE.

Lots of people have lived in hot muggy places since well before we had air conditioning. They have lots of cultural adaptations to the heat, including the saying that I used as a title for this piece indicating that Middle Eastern peoples think no sane person runs around outside in the noonday heat.

Footnote 

Growing up in Georgia, 99 or 100 degrees and high humidity were typical for parts of summer and occasionally higher temps.

I moved to Texas and it's also humid and was more likely to hit temps of 103-105.

I lived in the High Desert in Southern California and was at about 3000 ft ASL. It's arid and just south of Death Valley and routinely was above 100 degrees during the day in summer and sometimes hit 115 degrees regularly for up to two weeks.

I was in Fresno, California for a time and it was 112 degrees shortly before I moved from there to Washington State in September where it was 70 degrees during the day and 40 degrees at night, which was something of a shock.

I spent more than a YEAR in Albuquerque, New Mexico which is arid and about a mile high.

I haven't been to Mexico, but it's pretty mountainous. I'm aware Japan is fairly mountainous.

You will want to look for cultures dealing with similar challenges and which have at least two of your three concerns: Heat, humidity and elevation. 

And then adapt -- not adopt -- their practices to your situation.