TOKYO: Fishmongers at Tokyo’s famed Tsukiji tuna auction are feeling the heat as the aging market’s air conditioners struggle to keep up with a heatwave blanketing the country.
The dilapidated market is due to close later this year, and will relocate to a new, modern site.
But in the meantime, wholesalers have been forced to take measures including keeping their pricey produce in cool trucks until moments before auction.
“We can’t replace the aging air conditioners as we’re relocating very soon, and it’s been so hot that it’s hard to get the temperature down,” an official at the market told AFP.
The auction space is usually kept at 15 degrees Celsius to keep the treasured tuna cool, but an “unprecedented” heatwave meant the mercury hit as high as 20 degrees in July, the official said.
To keep their fish fresh, wholesalers are keeping the shutters in the auction warehouse sealed, leaving tuna inside cool trucks until shortly before auction and covering fish with tarps as soon as they are sold.
“Wholesalers are doing their best to keep the tuna from thawing,” the official said.
After more than 80 years in operation, Tsukiji is scheduled to move to Toyosu, the site of a former gas plant, on October 11.
The current site is the world’s biggest fish market and a popular tourist attraction in an area packed with restaurants and shops.
Plans to move the market have been in the works for years, and the relocation was originally scheduled for 2016.
But myriad delays have set back the timeline, including the discovery of soil contamination at Toyosu.
Tsukiji opened in 1935 and is famed for its pre-dawn tuna auctions, with one fish going for more than $320,000 at the market’s final New Year’s auction last year.
Japan has been struggling with a nationwide heatwave that killed 119 people and hospitalized nearly 50,000 others last month.
Japan heatwave threatens famed Tsukiji tuna auction
Japan heatwave threatens famed Tsukiji tuna auction
6 planets will parade across the night sky at the end of February
NEW YORK: Six planets are linking up in the sky at the end of February, and most will be visible to the naked eye.
It’s what’s known as a planetary parade, which happens when multiple planets appear to line up in the sky at once. The planets aren’t in a straight line, but are close together on one side of the sun.
Skygazers can usually spot two or three planets after sunset, according to NASA. Hangouts of four or five that can be glimpsed with the naked eye are less common and occur every few years. Last year featured lineups of six and all seven planets.
When will they be visible?
On Saturday, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible to the naked eye if clear skies allow. Uranus and Neptune can only be spotted with binoculars and telescopes.
What time is optimal for viewing?
Go outside about an hour after sunset and venture away from tall buildings and trees that will block the view. Look to the western sky and spot Mercury, Venus and Saturn close to the horizon. Jupiter will be higher up, along with Uranus and Neptune.
How to know if you’ve spied a member of the parade?
“If it’s twinkling, it’s a star. If it is not twinkling, it’s a planet,” said planetary scientist Sara Mazrouei with Humber Polytechnic in Canada.
The parade should be visible over the weekend and in the days after. Eventually, Mercury will bow out and dip below the horizon.
At least one bright planet is visible on most nights, according to NASA.
Glimpsing many in the sky at once is a fun way to connect with astronomers of centuries’ past, said planetary scientist Emily Elizondo with Michigan State University.
Ancient astronomers used to make sense of the universe “just by looking up at the stars and the planets,” Elizondo said, “which is something that we can do today.”
