The bitter cold Wednesday - coming just days after the city's heaviest snowfall in four years - prompted the Meteorological Agency to issue a low temperature advisory for the 23 wards for the first time in over three decades. Shigeki Kawaguchi, an official of the agency's weather consultation center, said a similar warning was last issued in late January 1985.
An advisory of this kind is issued when water inside pipes might freeze or pipes might rupture - or when crops might be damaged - according to the agency.
Following an increase in the use of heaters, mainly in the metropolitan area, due to the cold weather, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. warned the same day that electricity usage was predicted to reach a level of 96 percent at the peak time slot of around 6 p.m.
Tepco said power demand was likely to reach 50.5 million kilowatts versus the peak load capacity of 52.27 million. The utility described the electricity demand forecast as "severe."
Temperatures are expected to stay low in central Tokyo through the weekend, with a forecast low of minus 3 for Friday, minus 2 for Saturday and minus 1 for Sunday, the Meteorological Agency's Kawaguchi said.
The lows and highs will likely return to the average figure of zero or 1 degree by around Monday, he added.
Comment: Japan has been getting hit rather hard this winter. Tokyo recently just had the biggest snowfall in years, and the combination of snow and freezing cold has seen the most busiest day for ambulance calls in 80 years. Some global warming we have!