Episode Details

Japan is experiencing such extreme heat that the national weather agency had to introduce a new word to describe it.
日本正经历极端高温，以至于国家气象机构不得不创造一个新词来形容这种天气。

The term is kokushobi, which translates to cruelly hot day.
这个词叫“kokushobi”，意思是“酷热难耐的一天”或“残酷炎热日”。

It is used for days when temperatures exceed 40 °C.
这个词专门用于气温超过40摄氏度的日子。

Japan has a long history of creating beautiful, poetic words for weather, like specific terms for rain or the cool air under cherry blossoms.
日本一直以来都有创造优美且富有诗意天气词汇的传统，例如形容不同种类雨水的词，或樱花树下凉爽空气的词语。

However, kokushobi is different because it sounds dangerous and overwhelming.
然而，“kokushobi”与众不同，因为这个词听起来充满危险感和压迫感。

The word was chosen through a public poll of nearly 500,000 people because 2025 was the hottest summer in Japan’s history.
由于2025年成为日本历史上最炎热的夏天，这个词通过一项近50万人参与的公众投票被选了出来。

In fact, more than a third of all 40°C days in the last 150 years have happened just in the last three years.
事实上，在过去150年里所有超过40摄氏度的日子中，超过三分之一竟然都发生在最近三年。

Meteorologists are worried because the combination of high heat and high humidity is very dangerous, especially for the elderly.
气象学家对此感到担忧，因为高温加高湿度的组合极其危险，尤其对老年人而言。

In big cities, the heat island effect makes it even worse.
而在大城市里，热岛效应又让情况变得更加严重。

This new word is not just a description; it is a serious warning for people to protect themselves and take climate change seriously.
这个新词不仅仅是一种描述，它更是在严肃警告人们要保护自己，并认真对待气候变化问题。