Marine Heat Waves and Japanese Meteorology

A marine heat wave can make the land even hotter. Japan Meteorological Agency scientist Hirotaka Sato explains how the 2023 marine heat wave near northern Japan amplified record-breaking summer temperatures onshore. The episode traces ocean-atmosphere heat transfer, cloud and humidity feedbacks, and weakened sea-breeze cooling to show how unusually warm water can intensify extreme heat and complicate climate forecasting and coastal adaptation.

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Special thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for sponsoring this episode.

Episode Guests: Mr. Hirotaka Sato

Find the article we discussed, Impact of an unprecedented marine heatwave on extremely hot summer over Northern Japan in 2023.

Review Mr. Sato’s publications on Google Scholar

Visit the Japan Meterological Agency’s Website

JMA Annual Report on Extreme Cliamte Events

JMA Report on Climate Change in Japan 2025

Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media website

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Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art by Jomiro Eming

Theme music by Nela Ruiz

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